Christmas ham pasta with pesto

served with zucchini, kale and pine nuts

(serves 2)

At a time when ham is in abundance, I've decided to use it as a healthy alternative to prosciutto or bacon with pasta. After being scarred by years of processed ham sandwiches, i had forgotten how good real leg ham is! I actually made this with pre-Christmas ham donations from Paul's family, apparently it is just as important to eat ham leading up to the big day as it is to have a whole leg on the day! Hurray!

Prep time: 10 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Ingredients

1 onion

3-4 branches kale

1 zucchini

80-100g ham

150g fettucine

handful of pine nuts, roasted 

handful of grated parmesan, to garnish

Pesto

1 cup loose basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1/6 C pine nuts

1/4 C parmesan cheese, grated

1/4 C extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Julienne and sauté the onion, kale and zucchini for 5 minutes until softened. Add in the sliced ham and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Make the pesto by combining the basil and garlic in a food processor and blend until a fine paste. Add in the pine nuts and parmesan cheese and blend again.

3. Add in the olive oil as you are blending, then add in salt and pepper to taste.

4. Boil a pot of hot water, add a generous amount of salt then add in the pasta and cook until al denté. Drain. Toss through with half the pesto.

5. Add in the vegetables, ham and the remaining pesto and toss through. 

6. Serve warm, with a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts and parmesan.

We also added in a few cherry tomatoes from our cherry tomato plant!!

Fruits of our labour, before the strike of the caterpillars :'(