Yes I am taking another day off from the blog. I should know better that I get side-tracked on the weekend. Going to dinner with friends so maybe I will have a new cocktail or dish to share tomorrow. Or even a new restaurant. Keep reading and in the meantime please don’t forget my website which is growing daily. Cucina di Andrea. Check it out and enjoy the weekend! Ciao!
Monthly Archives: August 2010
Pesto #5: Arugula Pesto
Just like basil pesto and spinach pesto, arugula pesto is a vibrant green color. Full of flavor with a little bit of a bite to it. This is another perfect sauce for pasta. Make sure that you wash the arugula extremely well though. Change the water at least two times because it takes a while to remove all the soil and grit. Nobody likes a gritty pesto!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups (packed) fresh arugula, cleaned extremely well!
1 garlic clove
½ cup olive oil
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon salt, more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a food processor blend the arugula and garlic until finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add the oil, processing until well blended.
2. Transfer the pesto to a large bowl and stir in the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Cover and refrigerate.
Makes about 1 cup and can be made 2 days ahead.
Pesto #4: Mushroom Pesto
As we’ve seen this week, pesto comes in all colors. Green is the most popular color and red is a newcomer with its own distinct flavor. Mushroom pesto adds another. I don’t want to say brown but it’s the color of mushrooms. This recipe uses both dried and fresh mushrooms. They both bring their own unique flavor and texture to the sauce. Dried porcini mushrooms are usually easy to find all year-round. They aren’t usually too cheap but if you can find them on sale they will keep for a while in your pantry. I even keep small cans of porcini and shiitake mushrooms in my pantry for any occasion as well. Try using them if you can’t find dried! This sauce is great on pasta but also just as good on toasted crostini (toasted bread slices)
INGREDIENTS:
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
8 ounces white button mushrooms, quartered
1½ cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ cup toasted walnuts
2 garlic cloves
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon salt, more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the porcini mushrooms, press to submerge. Let stand until the mushrooms are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the soaking liquid from the mushrooms and discard.
2. In a bowl of the food processor add the porcini mushrooms, button mushrooms, parsley, toasted walnuts, and garlic. With the machine still running, gradually add the oil, blending just until the mushrooms are finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Cover and refrigerate.
Makes about 1 cup and can be made 2 days ahead.
Pesto #3: Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto
Spinach and pine nut pesto is almost the same as the basil pesto. It looks the same and tastes just as good. Basil can be expensive especially if you’re using a large quantity of it. But with the wonderful bags of washed, pretrimmed spinach making a spinach pesto is a snap. Using the bags saves so much time as well, you don’t have to keep cleaning it over and over to get all the dirt out of it. And there are sales almost all the time for the bags of spinach. Many of them are buy 1 get 1 free! So this is a more economical way to make a great pesto! This pesto is great with grilled chicken, pasta, anything!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups (tightly packed) baby spinach leaves (about 2 ounces)
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
1-2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about ½ lemon)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon salt, more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a food processor, combine the spinach, pine nuts, lemon zest, and lemon juice. With the machine running, gradually add the oil, blending until it is creamy.
2. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl. Stir in the cheese, salt and pepper. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate.
Makes 1 cup. The pesto can be made 2 days ahead of time.
Pesto #2: Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
Sun-dried tomato pesto is not your usual pesto sauce. It’s great for topping sautéed or grilled fish and can be eaten hot or cold! It can also be used as a sauce on penne pasta. However you want to use it will be great! Using sun-dried tomatoes makes this pesto a sauce you can make all year-long as sun-dried tomatoes have a long pantry life and are great for so many recipes they won’t go to waste.
INGREDIENTS:
1 (8.5 ounce) jar of sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil*
1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon salt, more to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a food processor, blend the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil with the basil and garlic just until the tomatoes are finely chopped.
2. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl and stir in the cheese and salt and pepper. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Makes about 1 cup and will last for 1 week if stored in an airtight container.
* If you can’t find oil-packed tomatoes, then soak dry sun-dried tomatoes in extra-virgin olive oil for 12 hours.
Pesto #1: Basil Pesto
Basil pesto is the most basic and traditional pesto. It is what most people think of when you mention pesto. The basil-based pesto was invented in Genoa, Italy. It is also sometimes called a Genovese sauce. It should be a beautiful bright green and the aroma is almost intoxicating. Just remember when adding the oil, add it slowly. This is so that the sauce is fully emulsified, meaning all the ingredients blend together in a thick, uniform consistency. There are also many types of basil out there in the markets today so be adventurous and try a few of them for their different flavors! And remember you will be using quite a bit in the recipe so if it’s on sale all the better!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves
¼ cup toasted pine nuts (pignoli)*
1-2 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon salt, plus a little more to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus a little more to taste
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a food processor or blender, pulse the basil, pine nuts, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the black pepper until finely chopped.
2. With the processor or blender still running, gradually add enough oil to form a smooth and thick consistency. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl and stir in the cheese. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate.
Makes about 1 cup. The pesto can be made up to 2 days ahead.
*To toast pine nuts for pesto, bake them on a cookie sheet at 400ºF for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Just keep an eye on them because they can burn very quickly!
**TIP** If using the pesto as a pasta sauce it must be the right consistency. So when your pasta is just about ready you can add a little bit of the pasta cooking liquid to the pest to get it a little thinner so it will coat the pasta. Just be careful you don’t add too much and make it a pesto soup!
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