This morning Maddie was eating this dish (yes, for breakfast) and I remarked, “When I was a kid we didn’t eat pesto.”
She asked me what we ate instead.
“Oh, we ate Spaghettios, Fluff-N-Nutter sandwiches on Wonder Bread, Steak-ums, American Goulash (homemade Hamburger Helper), Campbell’s Tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches (on Wonder bread with Kraft singles and margarine). I could go on.
All that sodium, those chemicals & preservatives and look how great WE turned out!
If I’d known how easy this stuff was to make I’d have made it years ago. Try it – it’s very easy and beautiful and you’ll love the results. (Note to Libby: you can get all the ingredients at Trader Joe’s.)
All you need is:
INGREDIENTS:
30 large leaves or 60 small leaves fresh basil
generous pinch of salt
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 TBSP pine nuts, toasted
4 TBSP olive oil
4 TBSP parmesan reggiano, grated
1. Add basil, salt & garlic to blender and blend into a thick paste. You might find you need to add 2 TBSP of the olive oil to get it going.
I used coarse sea salt but I prefer using fine sea salt as the coarse didn’t chop up well in my blender and I got a few bites of it when I ate. If you have a powerful blender or food processor you’ll have no problem!
2. Add pine nuts and remaining 2 TBSP olive oil & blend some more. Add cheese and blend till you have a creamy pesto sauce.
Serve on pasta, as a pizza topping, smeared on crusty bread, or tossed in a salad!
Shock of shocks – both my kids love this! Even G loves it. Holy cow.
Add last 2 TBSP olive oil & cheese and blend until smooth & creamy.
Toss with pasta, salads or smear over crusty bread. YUM!
Notes
This recipe yields 1 cup of pesto.
NOTE: If you don’t use it all at once, store covered in fridge with a light coating of olive oil to keep it from turning brown. If it DOES turn brown, you can still eat it!! It’s just not as appealing visually…
Pesto can be frozen. Simply omit the cheese and freeze. You can add the cheese later when it’s defrosted.
Freezing methods: freeze (without the cheese) in tightly wrapped ice cube trays OR as dollops on a cookie sheet. If you use the cookie sheet method, be sure to wrap the dollops as soon as they’re frozen, really well in plastic and then in a Zip-Loc freezer bag. When you defrost you can add the cheese.
If you drop two scoops of French vanilla ice cream, drizzled with hot fudge and fresh whipped cream atop a bed of mixed baby greens, does that make it a salad? OF COURSE it does!! Same with this ravioli “salad.” Nobody’s going to waste away during this salad month…
This recipe, although it has fresh pesto, is simpler than the Orzo Salad of the last posting. And the crazy vibrant green of the cilantro makes it extra gorgeous!!!
**WARNING: Cilantro haters – do NOT read on!!! This recipe is not for you! However, check back this weekend for something cilantro-free…**
I couldn’t help it – I got a MASSIVE bush of cilantro at the Farmer’s Market for $1.00
INGREDIENTS:
1/3 c toasted pine nuts
1 c lightly packed cilantro leaves & stems
1/3 c Parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 TBSP lemon juice
2/3 c olive oil
sea salt
16 oz fresh or frozen ravioli
1/2 c oil-cured black olives, pitted and torn or chopped
OPTIONAL: thyme or chive flowers, to garnish
This was about 1/4th of the amount of cilantro I got!
1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Toast pine nuts: Pre-heat oven to 400. Spread pine nuts evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for a few minutes.
Ugh!@!! Someone PLEASE clean out my toaster oven?
3 minutes would have been perfect. I did 4 and they got a little dark but still tasty.
2. Make cilantro pesto while water is heating. In a food processor or blender (I only have a blender) add cilantro, parmesan, salt, garlic, lemon juice and a generous splash of olive oil.
Blend until you have a gorgeous electric green sauce. Wow! Taste and add salt, lemon juice or olive oil to your taste.
How does SO much cilantro become so little sauce? Magic!
3. Salt boiling water & add ravioli. Boil until they float and are cooked through. (Follow package directions on this.) Drain immediately and, while still hot, add a large spoonful of pesto. Toss gently and let the pesto soak into the pasta.
Add most of the remaining pesto and olives and toss gently.
4. Gently pour onto a platter and drizzle remaining pesto, sprinkle remaining olives, pine nuts and (optional) flowers atop.
(I opted OUT of the flowers as I did not have them but they would be a pretty addition – especially if this were served at a special event.)
Maddie professed to loving this.
However, Maddie lied. (That was the only bite she took.)
A Word about my Adaptations:
I respect the original recipe and its ingredients very much but, sometimes I don’t have all the ingredients and I still want to make the dish. For this reason, I adapt the ingredients to make them less particular and hopefully more accessible. My adaptations involve using ingredients I have. For example, I didn’t have any pepitos (not only did I not have them but I’d never heard of them!) and wasn’t about to make a trip with 2 kids to Whole Foods or the CO-OP to find them. Also, if you have olive oil but not extra-virgin olive oil, that doesn’t mean you can’t make this dish. That said, I find that using the best ingredients I can get (and afford) makes a difference in the dish.
Do you think I used the word “dish” enough?
This is what I call a First World problem. Most of the people reading this blog (you two know who you are! HAHAHAAH!!!) have more than enough to eat. If we can be aware of where we are getting our food from to be more environmental/humane, than great. Otherwise, I don’t want to get caught up in “I can’t use regular olive oil, it has to be extra virgin.” to the point you drive yourself nuts.
Author: Christina Cox (slightly adapted from “Super Natural Every Day”)
Recipe type: Main
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
An visually stunning warm salad perfect for special occasions (showers, luncheons…) Can be served room temp or warm. But be careful not to serve to the cilantro-averse.
Ingredients
⅓ c toasted pine nuts
1 c lightly packed cilantro leaves & stems
⅓ c Parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 TBSP lemon juice
⅔ c olive oil
sea salt
16 oz fresh or frozen ravioli
½ c oil-cured black olives, pitted and torn or chopped
OPTIONAL: thyme or chive flowers, to garnish
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Toast pine nuts: Pre-heat oven to 400. Spread pine nuts evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for a few minutes.
Make cilantro pesto while water is heating. In a food processor or blender (I only have a blender) add cilantro, parmesan, salt, garlic, lemon juice and a generous splash of olive oil.
Blend until you have a gorgeous electric green sauce. Wow! Taste and add salt, lemon juice or olive oil to your taste.
Salt boiling water & add ravioli. Boil until they float and are cooked through. (Follow package directions on this.) Drain immediately and, while still hot, add a large spoonful of pesto. Toss gently and let the pesto soak into the pasta. Add most of the remaining pesto and olives and toss gently.
Gently pour onto a platter and drizzle remaining pesto, sprinkle remaining olives, pine nuts and (optional) flowers atop.
