Cilantro Pesto
December 5, 2008 § 6 Comments
Does “Cilantro Pesto” sound a little funky to you? Well, it did to me, too! Basil pesto my all time favorite food; why would I ever try to meddle with something that’s already perfect? Well, two events coincided that prompted recipe experimenting: first, my aunt had some leftover cilantro from her CSA in Phoenix that she passed along to me. Normally, I give any morsel of cilantro straight over to my mom and have her whip up the Best Salsa Of All Time. But, it just so happened that a couple days ago I was flipping through a Mollie Katzen book and saw a few recipes for different herb pestos (other than basil). I totally trust Mollie, so I thought: what the heck?
If I ever doubted Mollie (which I don’t believe I ever came close), I won’t dream of it now. This is absolutely FANtastic! This isn’t her recipe to a T, but similar. I’ve since made it on noodles, sandwiches, and my fav: on a pizza instead of tomato sauce. You’ve GOTTA try this one. I promise, it won’t be regrettable.
Ingredients:
1 bunch cilantro
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
small handful (approx. 1/4 – 1/3 cup) walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions:
1. Trim stems off cilantro. Dip bunch into a bowl of cool water and shake to rinse off any remaining dirt.
2. In a food processor or blender, blend all ingredients until it becomes a green paste. If you prefer your pesto a little soupier, keep adding olive oil a tablespoon at a time. I like my pesto thick to slather on small pieces of french bread, so I stuck to a quarter cup. This recipe freezes and thaws wonderfully.
Diet Notes: Gluten-free, SCD-safe
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