Parsley Pinenut Pesto

When my friend and I were in High School, we would often go shopping in the city which we loved to do as it was always more exciting than shopping in the suburbs. There were always so many people and adults looked like they were always on their way to something interesting or exciting as they'd be walking so fast.

Little did we realise how "exciting" it would be one afternoon. We were travelling on the down escalators into the Queen Victoria Building. There was a man in a suit travelling on the up escalators and we did a double take. He was, and how do I put this delicately...pleasuring himself. I still remember him perfectly to this day because I had never been exposed to a man exposing himself before and because it made me think that hanging out in the city might not be all it was cracked up to be. Disturbingly I remember his face because he was laughing like a maniac and having such a great time that I didn't know whether to laugh, run or gag.

I also remember what we ate that afternoon. It was an afternoon of firsts (some obviously quite dubious in nature ;)) and it was the first time that we had ever tried pesto. Way back then in the 80's, pasta generally had a creamy or tomato based sauce and the idea of a pesto was intriguing. It wasn't saucey like the other sauces but it was full of herbs and nuts and flavour. After that, I ordered it wherever I could. It was so "new" that one place made a pesto out of pure mint that tasted like toothpaste!

You don't have to make pesto just out of basil and other herbs are fun to use. I had half a bunch of parsley that I needed to do something with before the leaves faded so I decided to make a pesto because it's really the easiest sauce you could ever whip up. To the parsley, I added toasted pine nuts, cheese, oil and garlic and with a quick whizz in the food processor, I had my pesto. Perfect for Christmas gifting, it keeps well especially if you keep it sealed airtight and use a clean spoon every time. I've used it for quick dinners with pasta and added it to Mr NQN's sandwiches for lunch.

Oh and that reminds me, one day I'll tell you about the time I happened upon my former uni lecturer "helping" himself in his car!

So tell me Dear Reader, what is your favourite pasta sauce? And have you ever been flashed and if so, what was your reaction?

Parsley Pinenut Pesto

• 1/2 bunch or 2 cups of parsley leaves

• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted and cooled

• 1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1-2 cloves garlic, peeled

• salt and lemon juice to taste

Step 1 - Place the parsley, pinenuts, reggiano cheese, olive oil and garlic in a food processor and process until it resembles a fine paste. Add salt and lemon juice to taste.

To cook with pasta, add to a drained, cooked pasta and sprinkle with chilli flakes on top.