I realize that I post these wonderful recipes and merrily go about my way to enjoy meals with my husband and family totally forgetting to share how nice these dishes look!! My sincere apologies, because we all know we taste with our eyes as well as our palates. That being said, please see a picture, when available, inset to the right of the posts!
Last night we made fresh Pesto. Seriously people how much more simple can a dinner be than to throw a few crazy good ingredients in a blender, mix it up with some hot pasta and serve? All told I think it was about 10 minutes prep and blend time and 7 minutes to cook the spaghetti...and don't forget the 1.5 minutes to open the bottle of wine and pour a glass. Yes, it was the most vibrant green on the cool cream color of the pasta and the deep crimson of the wine – satisfying to the eyes to say the least. The garlic, citrus and piquantness of the fresh Basil provided a lightheaded feeling from the rich aroma....even before one drop of the wine was consumed. The taste – well humbly I say that it was delicious!!
If you haven't made pesto before, do not fear....it is really easy.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup fresh basil leaves, washed, dried and stems removed
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 rounded teaspoon garlic, minced
1-2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
HOW TO:
Pull out your blender and put pine nuts, and pulse a few times to get them started. Add the garlic and basil, pulse a few more times. We add ½ the oil and blend really well then add lemon juice. While blender is on running, slowly add the remaining oil till you have a smooth mixture. Add cheese, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper – blend well. Taste – you may need to adjust the level of salt and pepper. We prefer our Pesto more sauce-like versus some of the recipes that feature a higher content of basil. Feel free to adjust according to your own likes! You can multiply this recipe up to cater to the size of your serving audience as this recipe can serve 2 very hungry individuals or 3-4 people as long as you are serving salad, perhaps a protein side and a yummy dessert :-)
SERVING:
Cook and drain the pasta and add the amount of Pesto you like and mix well – serve with a little more grated Parmesan on top!
OPTIONS:
Substitute Walnuts instead of Pine Nuts
Substitute Parsley in place of the Basil
Substitute your favorite oil
Try toasting the nuts in a dry pan on med-high heat just till they start to turn light brown (walnuts too)
Use as a marinade on fish, pork, beef or chicken before grilling or roasting
Enjoy!
Cheryl
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