Pesto Recipe
By Christa Sinadinos
Take three bunches of basil and pull the leaves off of the stems.
Clean them and spin them in a lettuce dryer.
Pour ¼ cup (or so) of extra virgin olive oil into a food processor
Add ½ to ¾ cup of either: pine nuts, pecans, almonds, or walnuts
Add 2-3 cloves of peeled garlic (optional); or sauté the cloves first in olive oil on low (with a lid on), to reduce the pungency of the garlic
Blend the previously listed ingredients briefly or pulse the machine until the nuts are coarsely chopped. Next, begin to add the basil into the machine and pulse the machine so that the leaves still have some texture (and are not finely macerated.) Pulse until all of the leaves are coarsely chopped. If necessary, add a splash of olive oil.
Add the juice from one small lemon or half of a large lemon and
½ to ¾ cup (or so) of grated parmesan
Pulse the blender again until all of the ingredients are blended, but still have some texture.
Pasta
In a separate pot,
heat up water for pasta. When water is boiling, add the pasta and cook (with
the lid off) until the pasta has reached the desired consistency. When it is
done, strain it, rinse it, and then add a small amount of olive oil so that the
pasta doesn’t stick together. To make pesto pasta, simply add the pesto on top
of the pasta or mix in the pesto with the pasta.
Optional: Chop and dry roast pine nuts in a pan, on the stovetop.
Cook them on low
and stir them frequently to avoid burning them. Once they are cooked, sprinkle
over the pesto and pasta.
Pesto Pasta and Veggie Medley
For the next recipe, keep the pasta in a separate pot until the veggies are cooked.
Really, I use whatever veggies I have in the fridge, but add whatever sounds good to you. Just factor in the appropriate cooking times for each vegetable.
First clean and chop all of the vegetables.
Pour some olive oil into a pan.
Then sauté the following ingredients with a lid on the pan, for a few minutes.
1 medium Onion; 2 sticks of Celery; 1-3 cloves of Peeled Garlic.
Stir frequently.
Next add:
1 small head of Cauliflower or ½ of a large head.
2 Carrots, cut in ¼ inch slices, diagonally.
Sauté for one to two more minutes.
Then add:
1 head of Broccoli (chop heads and stalks)
Zucchini and/or Yellow Squash (one of each) Cut in half, length wise, then cut in ¼ to 1/3 inch width. If necessary, quarter them.
Button Mushrooms 1-2 cups (Quartered)
Swiss Chard (slice down the middle, then in 1inch strips width wise.)
At this point, I add splash of cooking dry cooking sherry and soy sauce, cover with a lid and cook for a few minutes, until the Broccoli is bright green and the Zucchini and mushrooms are cooked, but still firm. All of the vegetables should be cooked.
You can add enough of the following ingredients to the vegetables to create a creamy texture. You may need less or more of these.
1 TBS of Butter (or not)
2-3 TBS of Sour Cream (can be low fat)
1-2 TBS of ½ & ½ or milk.
A sprinkle of parmesan.
Once the veggies and dairy base are mixed, add the pasta and pesto, and mix everything together. Still keep the burner on low until all of the ingredients are blended and warmed.
Enjoy!