Milky Way DinerPistachio Pesto Pasta
I was listening to a food podcast last week (The Vegan Cooking School). They interviewed a pistachio farmer who had a cool tip, replace the pinenuts with pistachio in your pesto. I had to give this a try. It came out pretty good. I am not sure I would say I like it better than traditional pesto, but a very good alternative.Coincidently there was another basil tip I found from a podcaster. During one of the ReMARKable Palate shows in August, Chef Mark gave this tip:
Here's a tip for you basil lovers out there: When basil is plentiful, as it is now, buy it up (or pick it if you're blessed with a garden of your own) and puree it with olive oil, then freeze it. This will preserve it so that you have plenty for the winter. Now a classic pesto has garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan, but if you plan on freezing it, leave out these other ingredients and add them later.
1 box whole wheat linguini
1/2 cup pistachio
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh, torn basil leaves
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
Fresh cracked pepper
1 cup halved mini mozzarella balls
1 cup chopped campari (or other small) tomatoes.
Roast pistachios for a few minutes in a toaster oven. Cook pasta as desired drain and place in a large mixing bowl. Blend nuts, Parmesan, basil, galic and olive oil in a food processor. Mix pesto in to pasta. Mix in Cheese and tomatoes.
posted by Kevin at 8:22 PM
3 Comments:
Hey Kevin, thanks for quoting from my show! The best reminder about pesto is that it just means "pounded", so anything you can pound into a paste can become a pesto. You can also substitute walnuts, or any other nuts, as well as other herbs, like cilantro or parsley, as well as sun-dried tomatoes.
(Just a reminder, though, that it's ReMARKable Palate - not palette)
I have been freezing basil from my garden like this for years, and it does really keep well in the freezer. I wash the basil leaves in the salad spinner, spin very dry, pack into the bowl of the food processor, pulse about 15 times while drizzling olive oil in through the feed tube, and then freeze in small plastic snap lid containers. I use this all winter to make delicious dishes like chicken stuffed with basil and goat cheese. Yum.
Mark,
Sorry for the typo and thanks for the bonus tips.
Post a Comment
<< Home