Pesto vegetable salad

After the run-up to Christmas and the festive season, including all the delicious but often heavy treats, I usually crave something fresher and lighter. A wonderful way to fulfil this craving for fresh ingredients and plenty of nutrients is to make my pesto recipe. The focus here is on freshness and a variety of flavours. Pesto is a classic and quick recipe that never fails to impress me with its variety of flavours.

In this recipe, I'll show you a simple way to conjure up a real explosion of flavour from some greens and high-quality oil. Pesto is always delicious, in all variations, but I particularly love it in combination with roasted vegetables. My basil pesto is quick to prepare, provides lots of nutrients and tastes simply delicious. Any vegetables can be used as a salad base - whatever you can find in the fridge. We often have a few leftovers at home, especially after the holidays. However, in combination with pesto, you can create a wonderful meal from leftover vegetables and it's a great way to combat food waste. My favourite is a combination of aubergine and tomato, as you can see in the picture. A mixture of courgette, pepper and aubergine is equally delicious. As the pesto itself brings a lot of flavour, I simply roast the vegetables in the oven with a little salt, pepper and oil for 30 minutes.

This pesto is more than just a culinary delight - it's a nutrient bomb packed with fresh flavours.

Basil is rich in vitamin K and antioxidants and strengthens our immune system. Olive oil provides unsaturated fats, boosts heart health and has an anti-inflammatory effect. The roasted garlic is also an excellent immune system booster and the dried tomatoes contribute to our health with their antioxidants and vitamins. The lemon juice provides vitamin C, while the almonds, rich in protein and healthy fats, are an excellent source of energy. As you can see, the ingredients in the pesto not only complement each other in terms of flavour, but together they also offer a multitude of health benefits for body and mind.

I use roasted almonds for this basil pesto. Simply roast the almonds in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. The garlic also gains in flavour if you roast it before use. This is also easy to do: simply coat the peeled garlic cloves with a little oil and roast them together with the almonds in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Roasting works wonderfully when the oven is preheating, for example to roast the vegetables for the pesto salad later. This saves time and, above all, electricity!

Ingredients (1 jar)

For the pesto

60g basil

100g almonds

5-8 tablespoons olive oil

3-5 tablespoons of water

2 cloves of garlic, roasted

4 dried tomatoes, finely chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

For the vegetable salad

Vegetables to roast in the oven (e.g. tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, peppers)

Preparation

1. Pesto: Puree all the ingredients in a food processor or blender to make a pesto. (Depending on how oily you like it, use more oil instead of water.) The water makes the pesto thinner.

2. Roast the vegetables in the oven for 30 minutes at 170 degrees fan (e.g. tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, peppers, etc.).

3. Mix everything together and enjoy!

Tip: I like to serve naan bread or sourdough bread with the pesto vegetable salad. The flavour of the bread complements the dish perfectly and the bread is great for "picking up" and enjoying the leftover pesto.