Jamaican Thyme Pesto
This week we got the chance to try something very special thanks to Umami. Umami is a Zürich based company that specialises in growing Microgreens. Microgreens are plants in their development stage before they become adult plants. They form the first tender leaves that enable photosynthesis and roots for nutrient absorption. At this time, the Microgreens have a much higher concentration of essential oils, vitamins, proteins and minerals than in their mature form.
Aside from growing Microgreens, Umami also specialises in creating stable ecosystems where animals and plants live together in perfect equilibrium. Yes, this all happens in an office building in Zürich and is actually quite impressive. When visiting Umami last week I was able to take home a sample of the Jamaican Thyme that is growing in on of their ecosystems and decided to make a delicious vegan pesto with it.
Umami sells the Jamaican Thyme in some of its locations and you can find the Microgreens in Coop, Migros, Globus and Jelmoli.
Reading up on Jamaican broad leaf Thyme (a.k.a. Poor Man’s pork) I discovered that it is actually commonly used as a medicinal plant to treat conditions like cold, asthma, constipation, headache, cough, fever and skin diseases. It has also been found to be effective against respiratory, cardiovascular, oral, skin, digestive and urinary diseases. So this pesto is pretty much a super food!
Even though the smell is stronger than basil (and more fragrant) it is actually a lot milder, I decided to add in some walnuts in the end to give this pesto an extra kick without adding parmesan.
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Ingredients for 2 people:
Penne Rigate - 220 g
Jamaican Thyme - 30 g
Walnuts - 10
Olive Oil
Preparation:
Start by brining some water to boil and cooking the pasta in there (we used Barilla Penne Rigate which cook for 11 minutes)
While the paste is cooking wash the Jamaican Thyme and dry it with a paper towel.
Take your hand blender and mix the Jamaican Thyme, Walnuts, and Olive Oil. Add a table spoon of cooking water and mix again.
Once the pasta is done drain it well and put it in a plate. Drizzle the pesto on top, mix with a fork and enjoy :)