Currently viewing the tag: "pesto"
Having always been a stickler as to the definition of “pesto”, I have relaxed about this a bit, but still feel “pesto” should contain an herb, garlic, nuts, and olive oil. In this case the herb is the fronds from fennel combined with a little parsley for bulk, the nuts are coarsely chopped almonds, and the pesto is pretty runny. There is no cheese in this, although you could add some young Romano to the recipe if desired. This recipe was meant for Carrots with Fennel Jam, but would work well with chicken, fish, pork, pasta, or drizzled on spaghetti. Mortar and pestle is my preferred method for texture and longevity of end product, but a blender works, and the method for that is listed after the mortar method.
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Like so many things French, you can find more than one “vrais” (real, true) recipe for soupe au pistou, and the basil paste that gives it its name. Some have tomatoes, some not. A few have cheese. Most do not. None have nuts. That I have seen so far. Since I first learned pistou without tomatoes, that iteration will be v.1.
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Favas and Romano cheese are a classic Italian combination, from simply eating small early favas and slices of young Romano to mixing them in dishes. I recently had company that did not eat dairy, but I wanted to use pesto. If you taste a fresh young fava it has a cheesy taste, with a little tang and that hard-to-define eau de barnyard funk, along with a slightly gritty yet creamy texture. Just like Romano cheese. Turns out that tender young favas make an excellent substitute for Romano cheese in pesto. Use this vegan pesto as you would a regular pesto.
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Finding different ways to use celery leaves besides sticking them in stock is a “chef thing”. Here is a dual recipe. Chopped, it makes a condiment to be used as you might Salsa Verde. Chopped finer in food processor you get a pesto like paste that can be used on pasta, or on slabs of cheese or smeared onto things. For pasta, try it with something like bucatini or try a whole grain noodle with a little more chew and deeper flavor. Barilla makes a “Plus” line that is made with spelt and barley, chickpeas and lentils, as well as semolina, that has a nice flavor that would go well with this recipe. Try it on fish or poultry-it would go well with turkey for instance. Use as a smear for the white meat or use on sandwiches of leftovers later.
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The pesto is on quotations because you can just toss a handful of basil and garlic into a blender and then add almonds for a quick pesto-ish mélange rather than making a full on batch of pesto. If you wanted to, you could toss in flat leaf parsley with the basil to stretch it, or you can even use pesto from a jar. You would still need to add almonds for the flavor they impart. This is here to use up the last of the season basil you might have in the garden, or in the refrigerator.
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This recipe calls for new potatoes, but you can use anything really, as long as it is a waxy type. The new potatoes have a sweetness and nutty quality that just really plays well with this iteration of pesto. If the potatoes are smaller- 1-inch or less- smashing them with a fork or cutting board is great. If they are bigger, slicing is a good way to go, or cut the potato into 1-inch chunks and go from there. This helps to keep a good potato to pesto ratio for good flavor. If you decide to salt the finish dish, be sure to use a large crunchy type and go light with it. This is one of those simple dishes where it is all about the ingredients, and how some things just seem to go so well together.
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Here is another iteration of mint pesto. This uses traditional pine nuts, but you could substitute roasted almonds or combine the two. If you do not have fresh marjoram, skip it, but it adds depth to the mint and brightens it up. I prefer to use a mortar and pestle for my pesto, both for flavor/texture, and because it is hard to do smaller batches in a food processor. Both methods are given, but I hope you will try the mortar and pestle method.
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Pesto is a wonderful complement to roasted cauliflower. This recipe calls for thin shreds of carrots added to the pesto for a little hit of crunch and sweetness, but the recipe is great without the shreds if you do not have the time to prep the carrot shreds. Whatever nuts you use in the pesto would be the nuts to use to garnish this dish.
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This condiment is like a cross between a pesto and a dressing. It was made to go with roasted slabs of cauliflower will work with meaty fish and chicken as well. Tweaking the spices, like adding a little cumin and turmeric will take this to the middle-east or North Africa. Add more cumin and some green chilies and you have a good match with South West or Mexican cuisine. Add some radish dice and lime juice and this would be perfect for tacos.
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Not truly a pesto, but as it is close, and it is in the same spirit of “cucina povera” that true pesto was invented in, why not call it a pesto? No basil or pine nuts, but oregano and almonds stand in. Garlic could easily overwhelm this, but if you decide to give it a go, try using only half a small clove of peeled and de-germed garlic. Use this on roast carrots, sautéed mushrooms, or with cappelinni pasta.
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Another version of a “pesto using” cilantro, with a South West flair underscored by the use of spices and pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and pine nuts. Romano, Dry Monterey Jack, or Cotija cheese are appropriate for this dish as they are less pungent than Parmesan, although some Cotija can have quite a “barnyard” aroma. This pesto was devised to go with the Collards, Butternut Squash, and South West Cilantro Pesto recipe. Besides vegetables, try this on grilled pork chops, chicken, shrimp and fish.
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You could view this as a pasta dish, with the collards standing in for the noodles, and the squash as part of the sauce, such as the potatoes in a traditional Pasto alla Genovese, and serve it on its own, or use it as a side dish.
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This version of pesto hails from Trapani in Sicily. It features almonds and, more unusual, tomatoes. There are many versions of this recipe-some use cherry tomatoes, some call for plum tomatoes, peeled, or not. Mortar and pestle versus food processor versus blender. 1 clove garlic versus 4. Cheese, or not. Well, here is another version- with regular sized tomatoes given a quick turn on the grill to add flavor and to ease peeling. If you don’t feel like heating the grill, see Chef’s Notes for an alternative to this. If you have nice sweet cherry tomatoes with tender skins, just use those instead, and skip the grilling, or blister them in a skillet filmed with a little oil. Use this pesto as you would with pasta, or try it on grilled vegetables such as peppers or with steamed or roasted cauliflower. Also great as a sandwich smear.
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A quick dish to put together once the pesto is made, and that goes pretty quickly as well. Be sure to save a couple cups of pasta cooking water for the sauce before draining the noodles. Try to find linguini rigati (ridged linguini) for this dish as the ridges help hold a little more sauce.
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Serve this as a side dish, or use it to top pizza. It could be tossed with romaine lettuce for a salad or the leaves could be left whole and filled with, or use this to top bruschetta or crostini. If using for anything but pizza, try the Quickles option. The cool crunch and the bracing tartness of the vinegar is a wonderful foil to the plush textures and oil rich flavors of the pesto and peppers.
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This is the classic Ligurian version of pasta with pesto from the area where pesto as we know it today was “invented”. Some recipes will tell you to cook the potatoes and beans in the water with the pasta, but that could over cook them, so here they are cooked until almost done and then the pasta is cooked separately. If you use fresh pasta, cook them together by all means.
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Tagged with: basil • Bintje potatoes • cheese • filet beans • pasta • pesto • potatoes • romano beans • Romanze potatoes
INGREDIENTS:
4-6 medium potatoes such as Desiree, Romanze, Sangre, or other firm starchy potato, cut into ½ to ¾ inch cubes (size should be similar to the cauliflower pieces) 1 head cauliflower, florets only, trimmed to around 1 inch (halve in needed) Olive oil as needed Salt and pepper to tasteContinue reading »
Tagged with: cauliflower • cilantro • Desiree potatoes • pesto • potato • romanz • sangre potatoes • saute • vegetarian
This is a riff on the Double Cooked Potatoes already on the site. A classic preparation of Pesto calls for tiny potatoes and filet beans to be added to the pasta, and it tastes great. This recipe is inspired by that traditional preparation.
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One of the traditional renditions of pasta with pesto is a Genovese iteration that includes filet beans and tiny potatoes. Here is a de-constructed version of that dish, minus the pasta. Using Sangre potatoes here will make for a very colorful dish, but other types of waxy potatoes would work as well.
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I love mint, so this was a natural progression. I think pistachios are better than pinenuts with mint, and almonds work well also. You could use either one, but I like the mixture. I prefer to use a mortar and pestle for my pesto, both for flavor/texture, and because it is hard to do smaller batches in a food processor. Both methods are given , but I hope you will try the mortar and pestle method.
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A variation on the theme of summer squash and mint, this came about on the fly with some of the leftover pesto I had used with halibut the night before. This pesto is great with fish, on sandwiches, and with chicken, and makes a nice pasta, especially with shrimp and lemon added in.
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