Pesto Chango!
Recently, I’ve been seeing all different variations of pesto. I think I might have spotted a trend. Tried and true pesto is made with lots of basil and pine nuts with olive oil, Parmesan, and garlic.* For these recipes, basil is exchanged with another dark leafy green, and the pine nuts are substituted with other kinds of nuts.
If you’ve never purchased pine nuts, they can be quite expensive (a good reason to make a switch). When I was growing basil over the summer, I collected leaves from my one little basil plant for a few days to make a homemade pesto. After hitting the grocery store to purchase some pignolias, I was shocked at how one little jar could cost so much. I ended up making my pesto with walnuts, and it turned out great. Plus, I had plenty of walnuts left over to make some delicious pancakes. (Check out this post on toasting the nuts to bring out their maximum flavor.)
Spring will bring leafy greens before you know it. Here are some interesting and new interpretations of pesto:
Swiss chard + pepitas from Bev Cooks
Kale + walnuts from The Perfect Bite
Arugula + pistachios from Love and Olive Oil (recipe in the comments)
Spinach + arugula + walnut from FarmFlavor
Wendy’s winter pesto with cilantro + arugula + pepitas from Girl’s Gone Child
Jalapenos + almonds from Just a Taste
*If you want to make a “normal” pesto, here’s a good traditional recipe from Just a Taste.
Storage tips:
- Pesto can last up to a week in the fridge.
- If you can’t eat it all within a week, you can freeze it in ice cube trays. Then, when you need a little extra something in a recipe, pop in a cube or two of your frozen pesto. For the whole process for freezing and storing pesto, read this post.
About the Author: Becca Ary blogs about her adventures in the kitchen and around the house at BettyBecca.com.