I have this bad habit (definitely considering getting therapy for it) of buying pesto’s that I never ever land up using. I buy them mainly because they sound so chic, like its going to inspire me to cook dishes worthy of Michelin stars or something, okay that’s pushing it but you get the idea.  Anyway, a few months ago I bought yet another pesto. The label was in lime green (my favourite colour) so it screamed my name. I tried it that night and oh my soul, since then I have been through 2 bottles, I am on my third now. So proud of myself!

The pesto is a concoction of Coriander, Chilli & Sesame seeds and is produced by a local South African Company called Foodies.

It’s great for Thai recipes, fish dishes, chicken dishes and even fillet! Well that’s everything that I’ve tried it with anyway.

Foodies carry a whole range of pesto’s; from the classic Sundried Tomato pesto to a classic Basil pesto as well as an Italian herb pesto. And the great thing about the products is that they are not full of preservatives.  I have bought one or two of the others but my firm favourite is definitely the Coriander, Chilli and Sesame flavour. I guess I love it so much because it reminds me of my best dish at a restaurant in Kloof called Zest. They use these ingredients, together with a couple of other flavours as a sauce for fresh calamari, only the sauce is a little spicier. So I got terribly excited when I discovered that I could try and re-create this dish at home!

I bought the pesto from Spar but apparently it is available from Pick n Pay and Checkers too.

foodies-coriander-pesto