Pesto Muffins: Savoury Genovese Pesto Cupcakes

Today I've decided to tell you about some of the things I've been cooking lately.

I should say that, although the economic crisis is hitting hard, over the last few weeks I've enjoyed some memorable dinners for various reasons. One stands out: El Celler de Can Roca, to celebrate 15 years of marriage to my wife. As my father would say with a smile, "congratulate her, she's the lucky one."

I'm convinced that some day not too far off Can Roca will be the best restaurant in the world; the people who vote in the San Pellegrino World's 50 Best just need to realise that the Noma in Copenhagen thing is a passing fad.

I promise to tell you about my experience at Can Roca soon. I'll say in advance that I think it's a "must", and that the experience is such that the bill never feels expensive.

So, on to the pesto muffins. If we want to play at being cool we could call them Genovese pesto cupcakes, but allow me a reflection: "This isn't the time to be cool; it's the time to do things well."

Ingredients (makes 10 large muffins)

• 170 g wheat flour
• 1 sachet of baking powder (good old Royal)
• 3 large eggs
• 80 g Parmesan cheese
• 100 ml milk
• A few pine nuts
• Salt and pepper
• 150 g pesto (if you don't make it yourselves, make sure it's good quality)

Method

I added everything to the Thermomix, little by little. The idea is to mix the eggs and milk well, then gradually add the flour with the baking powder, and then the cheese. Season carefully, because Parmesan is already a little salty.

Add the pesto, gently mixing all the ingredients together. You can add a few whole pine nuts (not too many); even though the pesto already contains pine nuts, left whole like this they add a nice touch.

Pour the mixture into moulds suitable for muffins. In my case I recently bought some lovely cube-shaped silicone ones, which were actually what prompted me to make this recipe.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes at 180 °C (350 °F). Keep an eye on them without opening the oven (I know it's hard, but that's how it is).

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