Welcome to Kitchen Queries, where the nigella.com team will answer your cooking or food related questions.  We’d love you to submit some of your recipe problems, dilemmas or queries for us to get our teeth into!

Please note, we are only able to answer questions selected for publication and aren't able to enter into personal correspondence.

• Rocket Pesto

  I read the Basil Pesto recipe on Nigella's website and want to know if I can use rocket instead of basil? Or do you have a recipe?

  Posted by skillie. Answered on 4th Feb 2013 at 12.00

  From the nigella team:

  It is possible to use rocket (arugula) to make pesto, though you need to remember that rocket has a strong, peppery taste which may be too powerful for some. The Basil Pesto recipe on the website is a Community Recipe, so has not been tested by us and we can't give exact quantities, but we would suggest maybe trying with half rocket and half basil to see how much you like this, and then adjust the ratio of rocket to basil according to your own taste. If you don't like the taste of basil then you could use a combination of rocket and baby spinach leaves instead.

  Some people also like to vary the cheese used in the pesto, particularly if using rocket. Grana Padano is slightly cheaper than Parmesan and may have a milder taste, depending on how long it has been aged for. Some people like to use a hard Pecorino cheese, which is made from ewe's milk and has a different taste to both Parmesan and Grana Padano.

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