Green and mean, pesto is one of our favorite things to reinvent with seasonal touches. I love using toasted walnuts and spinach in winter, and brighten the flavors with splashes of lemon and spicy arugula in late spring. However you like it, pesto makes a super diverse ingredient to liven up pizza, add to ricotta and spread on freshly baked bread or serve as a filling fortortellini. I store it without much oil and thin it out as needed with extra virgin olive oil. One tip; don't season until after you've added parmesan to avoid over-salting.
Our options for pestos are as diverse as the chefs whose recipes inspire us; ChefChristianne Winthrop is a caterer who teaches many of our savory courses, and Rose is a artisan bread baker with social message. Make them your own and let us know how you like it!
Chris's Lemon Walnut Pesto
3 cups fresh basil leaves
1 -1/2 cups chopped walnuts, toasted
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
juice and zest of one lemon
3/4 - 1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1. Combine basil, walnuts, garlic, cheese, zest and juice in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.
2. With the motor running, slowly pour in the olive oil, starting with 3/4 of a cup and working up to a whole cup if a looser pesto is desired.
3. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Rose's Radish Pesto
4 large handfuls of radish greens, discarding all yellowed or damaged leaves and rinsing throughly
2 garlic cloves, peeled
4 strips meyer lemon peel
1/3 cup of a blend of pistachios and pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
5 Tbsp olive oil
2 sundried tomatos (optional)
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tsp sea salt
1. Place all ingredients in food processor and pulse until everything comes to a uniform texture. I leave mine a little crunchy because I like nuts. Alternatively, with a rainy day you could chop everything finely and work out your biceps with a mortar and pestle.
2. Sample! Add more salt or pepper if needed to taste.
3. This recipes makes 4 8oz jars, place any you won't use right away in freezer, careful to leave headspace room as pesto will expand as it freezes.
This recipe yields a very thick pesto, which is great for spreading on pizza dough or thinned out as needed with olive oil for pasta, etc. You can also add or substitute with carrot top greens and hazelnuts.
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