pesto-veggie side dish

to me this is just about the best side dish for an improvised bbq night... this weekend the weather has been over the top here, so we have spent as much time as possible out in the small garden. we ended up improvising a bbq, and one dish I really would like to share with you is this super easy pesto-veggie side dish. it goes well with almost all meats and/or sausages, takes maybe 15 min. to prepare if you go for the easy version using a store-bought pesto, and therefore fits perfectly for an improvised bbq night.

basically it is a selection of veggies roughly cut, blanched, and while still steaming hot they are mixed with your favorite pesto. this time I used about four carrots, two leeks, a cauliflower and mixed with a store-bought pesto Genovese.

if you have time, or just happens to have homemade pesto available that will lift this dish even higher, but when time is a priority a good store-bought pesto is fine. the dish will be delicious with a great variation of vegetables, so the selection can be done based on what is in the fridge, what looks good together or maybe which veggies the children prefer... a little bonus is that it is a very children friendly dish to prepare, as the children can help both select, wash and cut the vegetables, the dish is done before they lose interest, and they get to bring a contribution to the bbq...