Friday, June 15, 2012
Pesto party
It sounded good. I had good intentions to make it because I've always had tons of basil go to waste every year so I had no good excuse. The excuses stopped when I was encouraging my cousin to make pesto from the basil plants I gave him and realized I was being a little hypocritical since I'd never made it myself. I had nuts left from my cashew date balls, plenty of basil and such so I figured I'd give it a go and throw it together.
Here's what I used for mine:
20 big basil leaves
2 oz raw unsalted cashews (Nut Bar brand)
3 1/2 tbsp olive oil (I had 4 tbsp on hand in case I needed it but I didn't)
1 oz Trader Joe's Parmesan, Romano & Asiago Cheese blend
1 cup Trader Joe's organic baby spinach
(Makes 10 servings)
I put the basil, cheese and cashews in the food processor and gave it a whirl while drizzling the olive oil in the escape hatch. (I always picture the ingredients hatching a plan to get out of the processor before I press the pulse button. This is what lack of co-workers does to me.)
Then when it's broken up and just starting to come together, I grab the spinach and add it to the pesto party.
The finished product is a great marinade for meats or coatings for pasta or whatever your little heart desires!
I know...there are people gasping in disapproval that there's no garlic. I didn't have any. I didn't need it because it was awesome on its own. I'll make it with some in the future but I actually made something better with it but you'll have to wait until next week for that one!
Ooh...cliffhanger.
Nutritional Info (per serving- recipe makes 10 servings): Calories 78 Total Fat 8g Sat Fat 1g Poly Fat 1g Mono Fat 4g Cholesterol 1mg Sodium 15mg Potassium 5mg Total Carbs 2g Protein 1g Vitamin A 4% Vitamin C 2% Calcium 2% Iron 3%
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Love pesto!! (Now I'll probably have to make some this weekend, thanks for the nudge!!)
ReplyDeleteGlad you joined the pesto revolution. It's yummy with walnuts as well as the traditional pine nuts.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever get garlic scapes (the flower part of the garlic), they are wonderful in place of the garlic.
We often omit the cheese in ours if we are going to use it as an ingredient in a larger dish (so it becomes just a nut-herb-oil paste).
Ari
I've never had pesto either. It look and always sounds good, but I've just never had it. Maybe I should give it a whirl, thanks for the recipe = )
ReplyDeleteLooks great! I've tried pesto a couple of times and love it but have never been brave enough to try to make it! Looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteMade spinach walnut pesto night before last--it was delicious!
ReplyDeleteWe buy the giant tubs of spinach from Sam's Club and any time it is getting near the expiration date I use it up in my spinach pesto.
Okay, now I have no excuse not to use the basil that is prolific in my garden! Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteI have never tried pesto either, but always intended to. Now I have a good recipe to try! Thanks for sharing. I have had a pesto flatbread pizza at a restaurant here in town a few times and LOVED it, so I'm thinking I'm going to like me some pesto!
ReplyDeleteYep. 2 gasps. "What no pesto?" and "heyy did she skip garlic??"
ReplyDeleteYou are so in tune with your readers. :-)
You never had pesto? GASP! Although I admit, there are a lot of things that I've never had too that most people eat all the time--like coffee! :) Glad you finally got on the pesto train though!
ReplyDeleteYum!!! This looks delish. I can't believe you haven't had pesto before. Super craz, but I'm glad you got with the program! Go you! ;)
ReplyDeletePesto is one of those things I like in super small servings. A little goes a long way, if you know what I mean. It's kind of a shame, because it's fairly nutritious.
ReplyDeleteWishing you and the Mr. a wonderful weekend!
Never had pesto and although yours looks good, I am still not really motivated to try it. If I ever do, it will be without garlic. My husband eats enough garlic for both of us!
ReplyDeleteLost my darn comment...
ReplyDeleteI've never had pesto and although yours looks good, I am still not motivated to try it. If I do, it will be without garlic, so thanks for the recipe. My husband eats enough garlic for both of us!
Lol...I really did gasp at your first sentence (before I got to the part about the collective gasp-lol). I've read about your basil plants I guess I just assumed...your pesto looks amazing though...now I want some toasted (kind of like fried but without the stigma)polenta with a little pesto...it'll have to wait for another day though :). Can't wait to see what you have waiting in the wings to share with us :).
ReplyDeleteI DID gasp! LOL Who hasn't had pesto?!?!
ReplyDeleteI love it. It's one of my favorite things. I would much rather have pesto on pastas than a white or red sauce. I'm also happily growing basil in my garden to make my own!