Pistachio Pesto, Tomato & Mozzerella

Last weekend I visited Copenhagen for the 1st IBJJF Copenhagen Open. Unfortunately I didn't have the success I did in Rome. I can make the excuse that I went down an age division, and up a weight division, but it all boils down to others being better on the day.
Each competition I take part in, I learn so much from, win or lose, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is life long learning for your mind, body and soul, for as long as you keep training.

Copenhagen itself is such a lovely place. I stayed in Nyhavn which is pretty much central to everything. Danish people are lovely, they all speak English very well, and everyone is so fit and healthy as they ride around on bicycles in the purpose built bike lanes. There are bikes everywhere!

There are also lots of Pizza restaurants and cafes. I'm a little unsure why, maybe there has been a big Italian influence in the City at some point, but I found it a little hard to eat healthy food here.
I guess when you cycle everywhere, and are a nation of super fit people, you don't need to stress too much about what you eat.

The little Mermaid

There was a cute little bakery opposite the venue for the Open that I visited when the competition was over. I had a feast to say the least! It's something I enjoy when a competition is over, to be able to relax my strict eating for a couple of days. The huge chocolate chip cookie, the chocolate scone and the chocolate marzipan ball I ate were all so delicious, and didn't leave that sugary film across my teeth as most high sugar sweets do. They tasted perfect!

A place which I loved, was a juice bar called 'Joe and the Juice'. On leaving Copenhagen I had the apple, spinach and ginger juice. It was the perfect start to the day!

After visiting Rome for a weekend back in April to compete in the IBJJF Rome Open and the European No Gi championships and seeing the Italian influence in Copenhagen, I felt inspired to create something a little bit Italian.
As you can imagine, Italy is full of Pizza and Pasta and a little difficult to stick to a low carb diet, and was the same case in Copenhagen. I'm sure if you looked hard enough, there would be plenty of healthy places to eat.

This is a quick and easy addition to any main course, or if you want to have it as a lunch dish, that will be lovely too.

Here is how I made it:

Ingredients for the Pesto

120ml Olive Oil
50g Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Garlic clove
40g of Fresh Basil leaves
40g of Spinach
25g of Pistachio nuts
Salt and pepper to taste

Add all of the ingredients in order to a decent food processor or Vitamix
Whizz everything up until it's in a paste.
Easy!

Ingredients for the rest

Beef tomato
Mozzerella
Basil leaves
Pesto paste you just made

Method:

Slice the tomato through the middle and discard the top and the bottom. You should make about 3 slices. Slice the Mozzerella so you have enough to cover each layer of the tomato.
Place one slice of tomato on a plate, cover the layer with Pesto, then add the mozzarella and a couple of basil leaves. Repeat until you have slice of tomato left, and this will be the top.

Enjoy!

There was plenty of Pesto left over from making this dish and it keeps well for about 5-6 days in the fridge. You can freeze it and use it later, and maybe add it to a Paleo Pizza, top some Salmon with it or use it as a dipping sauce for snacking with sliced carrots and peppers.

Jolie x