Perfect Pesto
I love pesto. I love it because of the flavor, because it is the easiest thing to make, and because it is so versatile. Traditional pesto is perhaps not a particularly budget-friendly dish, if only because of its reliance on pine nuts, which are absurdly expensive. Luckily, the definition of “pesto” is quite broad, at least these days, and can include other types of herbs and greens, different nuts, and totally different ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes. I love basil, but it usually comes in enormous quantities — perfect for pesto. Round out your basil with parsley, arugula, pea shoots, or other tender greens, and you’ve got yourself an incredibly versatile sauce. Here are a few ways to use your batch of pesto.
- Salad with lemon-basil vinaigrette. Thin out your pesto with extra lemon juice and olive oil, and you have a delicious, herbaceous vinaigrette for a green salad.
- Pesto pasta salad. Pesto, pasta, and fresh, in-season veggies. Enough said.
- Pesto turkey burgers. Mix a bit of pesto with some ground turkey (which is very cheap, by the way), form into patties, and grill indoor or out. Delicious!
You could also make pesto potato salad, panini with pesto spread, a pesto torte… you can mix pesto with sour cream and make a dip! You can grill fish or chicken and top it with pesto! What are you waiting for? Go make some!! You can easily reduce this recipe — it makes a lot of pesto. But you should have plenty of ways to use it now.
Ingredients
2 c. packed basil leaves
1 c. packed arugula leaves
3/4 c. walnuts (or pine nuts if you are feeling rich)
1/2 c. grated parmeggiano cheese
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 t. salt
olive oil
Combine all the ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor (or a blender would work). Pulse the food processor as you add the olive oil through the feeder tube — add oil until you get the desired consistency. Taste and add salt as necessary. Enjoy on pretty much anything! It’s that easy! Store in an airtight container, topped with a thin layer of olive oil, for maximum freshness.
By Rachel Crawford on June 12, 2009 | 1
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One Response to “Perfect Pesto”
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Katie
June 19th, 2009 @ 10:04 AM
I adore pesto also. I find myself putting it on everything lately. I have a ton of basil plants in my backyard garden! I just made a recipe with pine nuts and actually prefer the walnut version! I don’t add lemon to mine..have to try that sometime!