Let's Talk: Pesto Fest!

Posted by Deb Puchalla

High summer is when the stars of the food and gardening worlds perfectly align. Last week, my favorite gardening guru, Margaret, and I were Twittering (if you're curious, try it -- you might like it); her basil was going to flower and she had to act fast -- what to make?

I was psyched to put some of the right-priced piles of leafy herbs from the local farmers' market to work along with fistfuls of cilantro and parsley from out back, my first potted project (gardening takes more patience than a long, slow braise, but growing herbs is a nice entry point). What to do with the bounty?

The delightful Ms. M and Everyday Food decided today was as good a day as any for a pesto party. Why not harvest and share as many pesto recipes as possible? This verdant sauce changes up pasta, pizza, and proteins alike. Basil plus olive oil, garlic, and walnuts is one traditional combination that we rely on at the magazine, but we've created several takes and so have several friends.

Over at designsponge, you'll find another classic mixture, with basil, Parmesan, and pine nuts, and foodiemama has a family- and freezer-friendly version (many are). These are just the beginning -- herbs and oil are infinitely customizable, depending on how your garden grows.

Mark Bittman, author of "How to Cook Everything" (one of my kitchen bibles), has a no-nut, delicious-sounding parsley pesto he serves over littleneck clams. Luisa at the Wednesday Chef likes Italian maven Marcella Hazan's Sicilian version, with basil, garlic, and bright tomatoes. You Grow Girl, one of the gardeners I'm learning from online, has a sage-walnut pesto that's intriguing, and Smitten Kitchen has a more exotic post, using a romaine-parsley-garlic blend to stuff tomatoes -- I can't wait to try that one. The most unusual one I stumbled upon was courtesy of Chocolate and Zucchini; they blended basil, almonds, and strawberries along with olive oil and Parmesan into a spread for crostini. Who knew? I didn't,  but I'm very curious.

Slightly more conventional but equally appealing is Kalyn's pesto with spinach (bonus: Her post includes a substantial list of other pestos). Still want more? Browse one of these roundups: Tastespotting, where pictures guide you to possible pestos, and Serious Eats, where you'll find other fans' uses.

Tell us what herbs, cheese, and nuts (and berries? what else?) you're getting saucy with -- we'll pick some favorites for a shout-out.

See what's cooking with me on Twitter (and get growing with Margaret, too).

Stumble It!

Comments

[VeggieGirl]

The pesto varieties that I love are basil-walnut pesto and sundried-tomato pesto (made with pine nuts).

[Alex Sicre]

Two weeks ago we got some beautiful basil and garlic from our farm share. I looked in the pantry, but the only nuts I could find were pistachios and filberts. I roasted the hazelnuts and combined them with the basil, garlic, parmesan, and oil.

I thought it was awesome, little sweet and smoky, but my wife thought it was horrible and only ate a few bites - so I won't be making it again!

At BONDA we sometimes make a cilantro pesto for meats, and an arugula pesto for the bite!

[Regan]

One of my favorite recipes for pesto calls for parsley, walnuts, olives, goat cheese, and lemon. It's pretty hearty, and is perfect served with whole-wheat pasta in cooler weather. During summer, I make pesto with basil and whatever nuts/hard cheeses I happen to have on hand.

[Deb Puchalla]

Sundried tomato sounds interesting (I'm a fan of pine nuts, esp when they're good quality). I've never tried cilantro but think it'd taste great over southwestern spiced chicken.
Anyone wanna share their recipes??

[Kalyn]

Great suggestions for new pesto combinations. Right now I have an overabundance of sage and basil, so I think I'm ready to go on a pesto-making spree.

[Kristen Evans]

My favorite thing about making any kind of pesto is that I can freeze it in ice cube trays and have it all year long. My mom has 3 big basil plants at her house in Maryland.. I may have convince her to pick them this weekend when I am home. Here are instructions for freezing from EDF:
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=6742a6e806b0f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&rsc=header_1&autonomy_kw=basil+pesto

[Adina, Everyday Food]

I just had an amazing "green risotto" at the Union Square Cafe that reminded me what a versatile stir-in pesto is. The chef blended basil pesto into asparagus-and-pea risotto, and the color and fragrance were amazing. In the same way, you could stir pesto into a cold, smooth potato soup, or fold it into scrambled eggs.

[Margaret]

Who you callin' a guru? (Tee hee.) So many good links to great recipes, thank you. I am thinking we should "cook together" more often this harvest season.

[Deb Puchalla]

Guru's a good word. Beyond herbs, I fashion myself queen of chicken, fwiw. What should we cook up together next? Suggestions from any gardeners? (With my 10x10 backyard, I'll be leaning on the farmer's market, but not ashamed!)

[JeanAnnVK]

I recently made one of my faves with basil, olive oil, Parmesan, garlic and toasted almonds. I also love adding either fennel fronds or chervil. Yummy!

[Colleen/FoodieTots]

Great topic! I love to keep pesto in the freezer for a quick shot of flavor in pasta dishes, and a ready-made marinade for shrimp or meats. Some of my favorite combinations so far this year have been garlic scape & cashew, and carrots & chive. And, if you add jalapeños to a "pesto" of parsley, garlic and olive oil, you get spicy chimichurri, perfect for grilled flank steak: http://foodietots.com/2008/07/21/chimichurri-flank-steak/

[Andrea]

We put pesto on just about anything, pizza included. Our garden is overflowing with Genovese and lemon basil at the moment, so this will be a pesto weekend. We usually make a basic pesto with garlic and pine nuts, and another with sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. I also like to make it with parsley. We freeze a bunch of it in cubes and small yogurt containers so we can have a taste of summer in the middle of winter.

[Shannon]

I haven't ever made pesto, and was wondering if there is a substitution or can I leave all nuts out? My husband has a severe nut allergy and I miss pesto!

[Kristin]

These all look amazing. I'm thinking of trying a pesto with Thai basil, as the produce market down the street from me has huge bunches on sale.

[Deb Puchalla]

Shannon--Absolutely you can do a nut-free pesto. I personally would increase the cheese a bit (I'll take any reason to do that!) and consider slightly reducing the garlic if there's any in your recipe. Herbs+Parm+good olive oil is a terrific combination over pasta or pizza. (BTW, we recently started giving a "special diets" icon to recipes in the magazine that are free of nuts and other common allergens--might be of interest? Best of luck in all. Deb

[Mary Ann]

This pesto-fest business is quite a delicious bit of fun! Enjoyed participating and especially enjoyed eating some!

[Lisa (Homesick Texan)]

I like to make jalapeno pesto this time of year. Mix in a blender 5 or 6 jalapenos with 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, 1 cup each of pecans or pine nuts, cilantro, parmesan and olive oil and a dash of salt.

[Susan Streit]

I have a roommate that is allergic to all nuts, so I like to make this pesto for her. I chop 2-3 cloves of garlic in a food processor, add 4 cups of basil and season with salt and pepper. While running I add some olive oil and grated Parmesan until I get a nice, thick consistency. You can't even tell the nuts are missing!

[Kitchen Confit]

What a great idea! A pesto party. We just made pesto at KC recently.

[Theresa]

I have a friend with an allergy to tree nuts, but he can have sunflower seeds. I prefer to use them in pesto anyway, since they are available at our local farmerś market and I prefer to support local agriculture when possible.