Walnut and watercress pesto is a fabulous addition to any of your pasta dishes. It will provide a freshness and crispiness to the usually bland taste do the dish. Along with bits of flaked salmon and parmesan shavings, you will end up with a restaurant-quality meal. Great for serving your guests during dinner parties or if you feel like preparing your packed work lunch the night before. It doesn’t require a lot of effort either. You colleagues will definitely ask you about the walnut and watercress pesto. It’s not so commonly used so feel free to brag about your cooking skills.
Walnut pesto
Walnut pesto is a healthier substitute to the traditional pine nut pesto or Pesto Alla Genovese. There are two main differences between the traditional pesto and watercress and walnut pesto. Instead of the basil, I used watercress – arguably, a much healthier plant. Walnuts give you a good blast of the good omega-3 fats. Combined with parmesan, you’ll get an excellent serving of protein. No need to eat meat! If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also try the basil and pistachio pesto.
History of pesto
The traditional pine nut-basil pesto originated in Italy during the Roman era. It’s called Pesto Alla Genovese. For more information on the history of pesto, click here. There you’ll find a great avocado pesto recipe that might just be worthy competitor to this watercress pesto. Let us know which one you preferred best by leaving a comment below!
Walnuts
Walnuts have been around since 7000 B.C. They come from the walnut tree and are collected in hard shells. You probably know that as it’s tradition to crack walnuts during Christmas time using nutcrackers. Did you know that roughly 70% of walnuts are produced in California?
The Health Benefits of Walnuts
Walnuts are great source of vitamins that help your body in numerous ways. First, as mentioned above, they are rich in omega-3 acids that help stimulate your brain. Perhaps this is the reason people call walnuts ‘brain food’. Second, they are fantastic for your heart and metabolism. If you eat a handful of nuts between your meals, you won’t feel as hungry and ultimately might lose weight. Lastly, walnuts contain anti-inflammatory properties.
Diabetics
The watercress and walnut pesto is great if you suffer from diabetes – both type I and type II. They help in controlling sugar cravings and sugar spikes in your blood. Not mentioning the fact that they contain EFAs (essential fatty acids).
The Health Benefits of Watercress
It is argued by some that watercress is even more healthy than walnuts. Imagine, if you make watercress and walnut pesto, you get one vitamin bomb meal. If your kids like pasta, but don’t enjoy green veggies so much, watercress and walnut pesto is the perfect addition. The watercress will give them just the right amount of vitamins for the day. For more information on the health benefits of watercress, click right here: https://www.greedygourmet.com/watercress-salad-dressing/
Salmon
Salmon and watercress is a great marriage of flavours. In fact, I’ve combined salmon with a watercress sauce before. Here I only used flakes of cooked salmon with the watercress and walnut pesto. The pesto is quite filling itself as it contains walnuts and parmesan, which are rich ingredients. I wouldn’t recommend using an entire fillet of salmon. With a few flakes sprinkled on top of the pasta, you get the right amount of balance between the ingredients.
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Watercress pesto's consistency
I would recommend blending the mixture until completely smooth. The walnuts and parmesan are ingredients that already have a pretty course texture.
Lemon juice
As soon as you finish mixing the ingredients together, you can add a bit of lemon juice or lemon zest. The lemon juice or lemon zest will give you a tangy flavour with a lasting freshness. You can also substitute with lime. I prefer lemon with the recipe. If you tried lime, let us know how it worked out for you!
Pasta
I used farfalle pasta in this recipe. The shape of the pasta ads just the right amount of texture to the dish. In addition, kids love this type of pasta. You can also use different types of pasta for this recipe such as: penne, spaghetti, tagliatelle, etc.
Gluten free
If for some reason, you can’t eat gluten or pasta, you should try making courgetti, also known as zucchini noodles. It’s just as delicious, much more healthy and great for digestion. The zucchini pasta will leave you feeling light and fresh. Top it off with some fresh watercress.
If you like what you’ve read, click on these for more inspirational and yummy dishes:
https://www.greedygourmet.com/watercress-salad-dressing/
https://www.greedygourmet.com/watercress-salad-smoked-salmon/
https://www.greedygourmet.com/watercress-soup/
https://www.greedygourmet.com/avocado-pesto/
https://www.greedygourmet.com/basil-pistachio-pesto/
📖 Recipe
Walnut & Watercress Pesto
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 75g (2 ½oz) watercress, washed
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 45ml (3 tbsp) olive oil
- 60g (2 oz) Parmesan cheese, grated
- 60g (2 oz) walnuts
- Juice of 1 lemon [optional]
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in the food processor and blend until smooth.
- Season to taste and serve, or freeze.
Notes
- In the photo I served the pesto with pasta, cooked salmon and shavings of parmesan.
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 238
- Sodium: 151 mg
- Fat: 22.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 2.5 g
- Fiber: 1.3 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Cholesterol: 11 mg
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Diane Duggan
I like red pepper and Pecorino cheese pesto.
Fiona jk42
I'm not sure if it counts as a pesto or a dip, but I love muhammara with walnuts, chillis and herbs
Lyndsey Shingler
I've just discovered wild garlic and hazelnut pesto. YUM!
Adrian Bold
I love walnut and kale
Marie Rule
I love the combination of pesto with sun-dried tomatoes.
Sandra Fortune
Never tried pesto but would like to after seeing this lovely healthy recipe. Love watercress and walnuts
Sandra Fortune
I've never had pesto but would love to try after seeing your healthy recipe. I love watercress and walnuts
Claire Davies
Basil, Coriander and Almond Pesto 🙂 Delicious with pasta 🙂
Donna Caldwell
I've never tried making my own pesto
Elizabeth Smith
Chicken, basil pesto and mozzarella
Jade Hewlett
I like pesto with mozzarella
Sheri Darby
Basil and pine nuts with a touch of garlic
jo liddement
I grow my own basil in the garden every year and make my own pesto with walnuts and then freeze portions in silicone ice cube trays so i can just take out as much as i need for meals.
Victoria Prince
I like a traditional pesto with basil, pine nuts and parmesan 🙂 to be honest I have never thought about experimenting and I will definitely be thinking of a pesto in a new and more outside the box way now!
pete c
Fennel Pesto with cream cheese
janine atkin
i like it with cheese
Keith Hunt
the wife makes diced cheese and pesto stuffed chicken breasts
Solange
I like red pesto with pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and Parmesan
Clare Hubbard
I like a traditional basil and pine nut
Mary
What a beautiful dish! This alternative pesto recipe is definitely one to try. With such simple ingredients, its easy to make yourself, and there's the added benefit of having control as to what goes in it - fresh ingredients, locally produced if possible, and whatever little adjustments you make to suit your own palette. Thanks for sharing this delicious dish!
michelle
You are so right, Mary!
Ruth Harwood
Broccoli and garlic with a squeeze of lemon x
CLAIRE woods
pesto and mozzerello
Ray Dodds
Traditional pine nut and basil is my fave
Laura Pritchard
We love red pesto with pasta, tuna & sweetcorn.
Christine Dodd
I've signed up
A S,Edinburgh
Traditional pine nut and basil, with parmesan.
cheryl hadfield
I love pesto and mozzerello
laura banks
pesto with a lot of garlic
Mary N
I love pesto made with spinach, avocado, walnut and garlic pesto. I make my own pesto as most shop bought pesto has Parmesan cheese which is not suitable for vegetarians. I have never made pesto using watercress so i'm looking forward to using it to make pesto.
Lindsey C
kale and walnut
Ceri Jones
I love walnut in pesto, and it pairs so well with salmon too. lovely dish!
Tracy Nixon
I love pesto with mozzarella or chicken or pinenuts - or all four together served with pasta or on ciabatta!
Christine Dodd
Long stemmed broccoli anchovy chilli and garlic
Harline
Not tried pesto ever something I must do
Angela
What a fantastic recipe, I love pesto so much! This is a great alternative.
Tracey Peach
I have a confession to make....I've never tried Pesto! so I don't know which are my favourite flavours I really should try some!
Hannah Hossack-Lodge
I make a lot of home made pestos but I haven't tried a walnut and watercress one before, definitely one to try as I love watercress!