With my summer herb garden comes an abundance of certain herbs to harvest. If you don’t prune and harvest them, they tend to grow a bit taller, instead of fuller too. Sometimes it can be hard to keep up with you crop, which is why pesto is so great! You can make pesto out of most of your garden herbs, and even greens like arugula and spinach!
I love using pesto as an easy sauce for chicken, fish and pasta. It’s also great as a sandwich spread, pasta salads, pizza, and tossed with vegetables. Get creative!
Cilantro Walnut Pesto, adapted from Fine Cooking
- 1-3/4 cups lightly packed fresh cilantro sprigs
- 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 Tbs. toasted chopped walnuts
- 1 lemon, half squeezed to yield 1-1/2 Tbs. juice, half cut into wedges
- 1 medium clove garlic
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a mini food processor or blender, combine the cilantro, 1/4 cup of the oil, the walnuts, lemon juice, garlic, 1/4 tsp. salt, a few grinds of pepper, and 3 Tbs. water. Process until mostly smooth.
If you don’t use the pesto within about a week, you can freeze it for later use.
