Pesto Recipes — Basil and Cilantro
Add the ingredients to your garden plan this winter
Pesto is a versatile food to have around. I put it on cheese and crackers, pasta, and rice. I also add it to salad dressing that I make with olive oil, soy sauce, and chopped garlic. It’s good right out of the jar on a spoon, too, and it freezes well.
Basil Pesto
2 cups basil leaves, packed
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup walnuts (or piñon or other nuts or seeds — experiment!)
3–4 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese — (I buy a block and grate it myself.)
Coarsely chop the nuts and garlic, and whiz everything but the basil in a food processor or blender. Add the basil, and whiz again until it’s all blended. If it’s too watery, add more nuts or cheese. If it’s too thick, add more oil.
Experiment by adding chervil and/or parsley. I use parsley when I'm short on basil. Try this with lemon basil, too! It tastes fresh and light. I’ve also heard of pesto being made with arugula, kale, and radish or turnip greens.
Cilantro Pesto
Beware — cilantro is a great herb for detoxing. I can eat a small spoonful of this a day and feel the effects immediately. I do it for a few days or until I feel cleaned out. It doesn’t seem to have that effect when it’s mixed with food, though.
This is the basil pesto recipe with cilantro and a jalapeño pepper in place of the basil. You can add a TBS of lime juice if you like. I didn’t care for it. If I’m short cilantro, I add basil or other greens. I’m after the kick of the jalapeño!
– 2 cups cilantro leaves, packed
– 1 jalapeño — seeds in or out depending on how hot you want it
– 1/3 cup walnuts (or piñon or nuts of your choice)
– 3–4 cloves garlic
– 1/3cup olive oil
– 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese (I buy a block of this and grate it myself.)
I put everything but the cilantro in the food processor first, then add the cilantro at the end. The nuts and garlic chop up better that way. If it’s thin, add more nuts and/or cheese. If it’s thick, add more oil.
These recipes take less than 30 minutes.
Pesto has the best flavor for about two weeks in the fridge. After that, it loses its kick. I stock my freezer, because there is only so much pesto you can eat when the garden is overflowing with ingredients!
To freeze, put it in a quart freezer bag, flatten it, and lay it flat in the freezer until it’s solid. Then you can stand it up like a book on a shelf and save space that way. I have a plastic bin that I ‘shelve’ mine in. I do this with everything I freeze in baggies, like fruit and chiles, too.
Make room in your garden plan this winter for lots of basil, greens, cilantro, and peppers!
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