Fresh Pesto Ideas

Who Loves Fresh Pesto?  I do!

Here's an easy typical recipe for pesto:

Pesto Recipe from the Food Network

Notice the tip in that recipe if you want to freeze your pesto. One tip a lot of people don't know about is to freeze your pesto in ice cube trays. Make it fresh in the summer when you have all of that basil growing in the garden. I like to cut the stems off the basil, I think the stems change the flavor. Don't obsess, just a quick clip w/the kitchen shears.

Variations- You can use other nuts instead of pinenuts like walnuts, almonds, etc. Also, you can use other leafy herbs like cilantro or arugula. While vacationing in Key West this month, a local "Fish Shack" served grilled corn on the cob, after it was grilled they brushed it with a cilantro pesto and then sprinkled it with Parmesan cheese. It was out of this world. When I came home Carli made the pesto, we just used traditional basil pesto, I grilled the corn, put it together & it was great.

Here's a version from Epicurious: 

Cilantro Pesto Grilled Corn                 

When I was in San Francisco last month we visited a great restaurant called the Stinking Rose. They served an awesome pesto as a dipping sauce with fresh warm bread. My guess is they added a little extra garlic then most recipes suggest, but so do we, we're Italian, it's an aphrodisiac for us! :)

A little pesto goes a long way. When you make it, you only need a tablespoon or two for your pasta. When I made some fresh pasta last week I added a little bit of cream (about 1/2 cup) with 2T pesto and 1/4 cup port wine(or sherry), cracked pepper & 1/4c Pecorino Romano cheese & was a delightful alternative for pasta sauce.

You could also use a little pesto as a sauce on a white pizza. 

Here's one other variation of a pesto recipe that's a little better on calories, it's called "skinny pesto."

Skinny Pesto

If you have other ideas for pesto, please add your comments below, let us all share in the ecstasy of pesto!     Mangia Mangia!

Baba Ghanoush

Baba Ghanoush

Roasted Eggplant Dip

Ingredients

2 small-medium eggplants
(I prefer the "Casper" or white eggplants. If you use a  regular eggplant, one medium would probably work fine.)  
3T  Tahini  

Tahini is roasted sesame paste. Typically found in the Greek/Mediterranean section of your supermarket. Look at the ingredient list, be sure to get all natural, pure sesame seeds, no other fillers. 

3T  Lemon Juice

3 cloves minced garlic  To be honest I used 4 because I Like garlic!

1-2 T sesame seeds  You can omit these if you choose or just use one T

Salt/Pepper to taste

1T  EVOO

2T  Sour Cream  I prefer Daisy light sour cream, great flavor for a light. Or, you could also use Greek Yogurt instead.     
(If you like a little heat, roast one hot pepper when you're roasting your eggplant.)

1. First thing is to roast the eggplant. I roasted them on the grill, on a higher heat until their black  all over. If you don't want to use the grill, you could do the same thing on your gas stove burner. Then, I moved it off the heat, left the grill on medium and left it on for another 15-20 minutes.  If you were using the stovetop, after the skin is all black from the frames, wrap in foil, place back on burner on low heat for 20-30 minutes or so.  If you chose to add the pepper, roast w/the eggplants.


If you'd rather use the oven, preheat to 400'  Rub olive oil over eggplant, when using this method make sure you poke some holes in the eggplant (so they don't explode in the oven :) Place eggplants on cookie sheet and roast in oven for about 30 minutes, turn them at least once or twice during that 30 minutes.


Whatever method you use, when you remove from oven, or off the burner, place in glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap, it will make peeling the skin off easier. (When I used the grilling method, I didn't need to do the plastic wrap because the skin just came off.)


2. Remove skin from eggplant. (This pic shows the eggplant after they've been peeled) Some people like to remove the seeds, they think it effects the flavor. I did remove some, easy to swipe with a knife, but I didn't get all of them, no stress.)


3. I let the eggplants soak on paper towels, changing the the towels over night. I left them on the counter for an hour or so, then placed in frig wrapped in paper towels, it releases a lot of water, giving the eggplant more flavor.  I would recommend letting them sit on paper towels for at least an hour.


4.  Place eggplant, tahini, minced garlic, lemon juice & sesame seeds  in a blender or food processor and puree. (If you used the pepper, place in food processor w/other ingredients.) Season with salt & pepper, pour into small bowl & add 1T EVOO, stir. Cover bowl & chill in refrigerator for at least 3 hours. 


5. Stir in the sour cream or yogurt.


6.  Taste, see how you like it, don't be afraid to add a splash of lemon juice if you think it needs it or a little more pepper. My best tip in cooking is to taste & don't be afraid to make changes as you like.  


Serve with pita bread and/or fresh vegetables.