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To quote Leslie Jordan and his HUGELY popular Instagram feed,
“Hello, fellow hunker downers. What are y’all doing?” Me? I made cilantro pesto
this morning. I did so for a variety of reasons. First of all, I love
cilantro. Second, I have no luck growing it because in this heat, it does
nothing but bolt. Third, the versatility intrigued me.
Whether you like basil pesto or not, this is an entirely new ballgame. The taste is fresh, peppery, and complex. You can up the heat (or not) by using the entire jalapeño (seeded or otherwise), or eliminate the heat altogether by using none at all. The beauty of making a condiment like this is that you know it is the freshest available, it can be stirred into a variety of dishes to enhance your own cooking -- ranch dressing to top a Mexican salad, white rice to make cilantro rice, guacamole to add some zing to your dip, sour cream to turn an ordinary taco (or baked potato) into something special. It can be also it can also be divided into smaller containers (an ice cube tray would work here) and frozen. That way, you can enjoy fresh cilantro pesto whenever you want it, and enhance any dish that you please.
Whether you like basil pesto or not, this is an entirely new ballgame. The taste is fresh, peppery, and complex. You can up the heat (or not) by using the entire jalapeño (seeded or otherwise), or eliminate the heat altogether by using none at all. The beauty of making a condiment like this is that you know it is the freshest available, it can be stirred into a variety of dishes to enhance your own cooking -- ranch dressing to top a Mexican salad, white rice to make cilantro rice, guacamole to add some zing to your dip, sour cream to turn an ordinary taco (or baked potato) into something special. It can be also it can also be divided into smaller containers (an ice cube tray would work here) and frozen. That way, you can enjoy fresh cilantro pesto whenever you want it, and enhance any dish that you please.
Cilantro Pesto
1 bunch fresh cilantro
2 T. chopped walnuts, toasted
5 cloves garlic
1 T. fresh lime juice
¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan
¼ c. extra virgin olive oil
½ Melissa’s pickled jalapeño*, seeded
1/8 t. kosher salt
Throw all ingredients into a food processor (or blender), and process until you have a smooth paste. Put into a container, cover, and refrigerate or freeze. Use in 1-2 days, or freeze.
*If you don’t have a jalapeño pepper on hand, or prefer not to use one, replace it with a few gratings of freshly ground black pepper.
1 bunch fresh cilantro
2 T. chopped walnuts, toasted
5 cloves garlic
1 T. fresh lime juice
¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan
¼ c. extra virgin olive oil
½ Melissa’s pickled jalapeño*, seeded
1/8 t. kosher salt
Throw all ingredients into a food processor (or blender), and process until you have a smooth paste. Put into a container, cover, and refrigerate or freeze. Use in 1-2 days, or freeze.
*If you don’t have a jalapeño pepper on hand, or prefer not to use one, replace it with a few gratings of freshly ground black pepper.
4 comments:
I love all sorts of pesto :-) And a big YES to cilantro!
I'll take any kind of pesto! basil, spinach, cilantro, etc. They all taste amazing to me.. thanks for sharing the idea and the recipe.
pesto ... like Judee said above - any kind will do it for me. looks so good.
I think cilantro is "love it or hate it", and I happen to be on the love side. I know I would love this.
Cilantro goes to seed very quickly after temps get above 80 here. I have been letting it go to seed and still enjoy brushing against it in the garden because I love the aroma. I'm hoping it will actually reseed itself. I had a big batch growing during the winter - in the compost pile!
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