They say that necessity is the mother of all invention, and nowhere is that more true than in the kitchen. When the fridge was almost empty and I suddenly realised at 10pm that I was hungry… well rather than calling for a pizza (again) I decided to rack my brains for something to make. I had the following:

half a tin of black olives
a ripe avocado
two pears
some carrots
some limes
a bunch of grapes

Oh dear. What on Earth can I make from that? Well I decided to stick with simplicity and make up a delicate avocado pesto with lime and dried chilli flakes. The result was rather tasty, even if I do say so myself!

You will need (serves one):

80g of pasta
1 ripe avocado
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
juice of one lime
salt

1. While the water boils, scoop out the avocado flesh and mush into a bowl.

2. Add the lime juice, a pinch of salt and the first teaspoonful of chilli flakes, and stir well.

3. When the water is boiling throw in a touch of salt then the pasta (in this case I used tagliatelle and would definitely recommend a “long” pasta like this, spaghetti, linguine or pappardelle).

4. When the pasta is al dente, drain and cool with some water.

5. Once drained completely, mix with the cream of avocado until the pasta is covered.

6. Serve with a sprinkling of chilli flakes and a cold glass of white wine. I forgot to mention the wine when listing the contents of my fridge… but then, there is always wine in there.

I’m not quite sure what I’d define this recipe as (Italian-Mexican fusion perhaps?) but it is really nice and cool on a roasting hot August evening. I will very likely make this again!

If you try it, let me know what you think – and of course please let me know if you have any unusual  recipes to share.