There Will Be Pesto...
For days, and days, and days. I went overboard, thanks to a bunch of beautiful, fresh basil the size of Daniel Plainview's ego.
But what to do with it now? What do YOU brilliant and culinarily gifted people do with your pesto? What other manifestations do your large bunches of basil take? Bonus points for creativity and flourish!
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15 Comments:
Spread it on your pizza dough before baking instead of traditional tomato-based pizza sauce. Top with mushrooms, black olives, a little (very little) mozarella to bind it together.
"I eat your pesto pizza! I eat it up!"
(see, I got your reference, there)
Chaoss at 2:14PM on 02/22/08
Stir a spoonful or two into a quick tomato sauce, instead of fresh herbs. Serve with fish. Make a foccaccia.
Pesto also freezes pretty well, although I usually freeze it before adding the cheese. You can spoon it into ice-cube trays and freeze. Then transfer your pesto cubes to a freezer bag. Then you can pop one into your soup, stews, sauces or thaw for pasta or foccaccia or pizza sauce.
kjgibson at 2:40PM on 02/22/08
I like it on pizza too! Or toasted bagel with cream cheese and pesto. Something about the combo.
I have to say, I have been experimenting with different kinds of pesto, and it's really fun and tasty- asparagus pesto is my current favorite although this broccoli pesto came out quite fine as well. Now that I've tried these, the basil stuff has to be extra amazing to make me swoon!
karenita at 3:37PM on 02/22/08
I third the pesto on pizza comment. It's also good added to cooked rice, along with some sauteed spinach. And I use it in stuffed chicken - butterfly a chicken breast, spread one side with pesto, and on the other side lay cooked chopped spinach, minced garlic and goat cheese.
woodenspoon at 4:15PM on 02/22/08
I had pesto pizza on Wednesday night! Topped with pepperoni and zuccini! I also love to make pesto with walnuts and keep them a little on the larger size for texture.
jmoilanen at 4:23PM on 02/22/08
Yesterday, Giada on Everyday Italian, rolled whole leaf basil and carrot shreds drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette in sheets of prosciutto.
Mix a few fresh leaves into an herb salad, use a mix of mild greens and just a couple of strong flavored fresh herbs. Dress with a sherry vinaigrette.
A winter caprese: Roasted red pepper, fresh buffalo mozz, basil whole or chiffonade, olive oil. I like to add anchovy fillets (packed in salt if you can find it, but packed in oil is fine), a few olives, some caper berries. I know, it's starting to sound like an antipasti bar, but you get the idea.
If after all this basil, you can't stand it anymore, give gifts of homemade pesto or freeze your pesto.
I think someone successfully froze fresh basil after a quick blanch...anyone hear of such a thing?
wookie at 4:42PM on 02/22/08
You can use it as a rub for roasting individual pieces of chicken (bone in breast, thighs, with skin on)
Mix it with ricotta and fill a lasagna with it.
Toss roasted veggies with it.
It's great in grilled chicken sandwiches with thinly sliced provolone and roasted red peppers.
A big spoonful stirred into a bowl of minestrone soup.
seyo at 5:17PM on 02/22/08
i love to dollop pesto on pan fried or roasted salmon.
cybercita at 5:24PM on 02/22/08
Oh gosh, I forgot one of my favorites!
Mix pesto and a dab of mayo for sandwiches.
Seyo reminded me with that chicken sandwich--only I've had it with marinated and grilled portobello mushrooms and not chicken, but the pesto-mayo was key.
And tossed with roasted veggies? Haven't tried that, but yummmm
wookie at 5:28PM on 02/22/08
what can't you do with pesto? like a lot of folks have mentioned, it goes great on fish, pizza, on sauteed chicken, on a sandwich, in a pita, on a bagel or toast, as a chip dip, in an omelet, blended with roasted potatoes. . .
you can do anything with that stuff.
redhead at 6:28PM on 02/22/08
Not very wildly creative here, but I use whole leaf basil in sandwiches with - only one layer since it has such a strong flavor that it can easily overwhelm anything - with roast beef or roasted eggplant, tomatoes, and boccini (even though it gives me diarrhea), or with smoked salmon on a bagel.
Since I don't even use salt or pepper with my salmon, if I'm feeling funky, I'll place a layer of fresh basil leaves, instead of baby spinach, below and on top of raw salmon and set it in a steamer to cook.
Cassaendra at 9:56PM on 02/22/08
I don't know if this is weird or not, but I like to mix pesto in with my scrambled eggs and then grate just a tiny bit of parmesan on top of the whole thing.
PumpkinBear at 1:50AM on 02/23/08
Pasta, pizza, slather it on baked fish and chicken. I've also tried it with omeletes.
NuJoi at 12:53PM on 02/23/08
I mixed a frozen pesto cube in with some tomato sauce to make a pizza sauce this week.
I've also pesto in a dish that's similar to what you can get at Noodles chain restaurant. Simple to put together, it's just pasta, pesto, grilled chicken, diced tomato, and parmesan.
kramer73 at 4:20PM on 02/23/08
I freeze pesto (without the cheese, and a layer of oil on top) and basil every year. I have at least 12 plants in my veggie garden. I also freeze basil in the ice cube trays. I mix in a little olive oil to keep it from turning dark. It is great in soup, pasta, etc. I also chop it up and freeze it in a glass jar. It does turn dark, but it still tastes great, and I chip it out with a table knife as needed.
cucinacecilia at 7:24PM on 02/23/08