Three Herbal Pesto Recipes
Use the fresh herbs you grow in your herb garden to make some flavorful sauces. Sauces that are highly seasoned with herbs are an important part of Mediterranean cooking, which is one of the most healthful ways to cook. Most sauces include olive oil, but yogurt or cream are also used as a base. Nutritious nuts are another common ingredient.
Enjoy these three pesto sauces that you can whip up in minutes from your own organic herbs and a few other common ingredients. Use them as sauces for pasta, spread on sandwiches, atop vegetables, added to oil and vinegar as a flavorful vinaigrette or mixed with butter as an herbal butter.
Basil pesto:
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
3 tablespoons of blanched almonds or pine nuts
a pinch of salt.
Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little more olive oil.
Cilantro Pesto:
This is a spicier pesto, good with Mexican dishes, in soups or on sandwiches.
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts or blanched almonds
Combine the ingredients in a blender or food processor.
Parsley pesto:
This pesto has a fresh taste, good on fish, vegetables or in soups.
1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, leaves only
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons pine nuts or blanched almonds
Combine the ingredients in a blender or food processor.
