Pesto, Take Two

Asparagus Pesto with Baked Goat Cheese

As you may have guessed, I’m really into making different kinds of pesto. Traditionally, pesto refers to a puree of fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, parmesan cheese and pine nuts, but there is so much more you can do with it.

I made this asparagus pesto recently. I think I just love the idea of green noodles, which means I really ought to try making fresh spinach pasta, but you know, sometimes I’m lazy. So here’s the asparagus pesto:

Start out with a pound of the thinnest, youngest, most tender asparagus you can find. I know they aren’t in season right now, which totally sucks, but I end up buying it year-round anyway. Snap off the tough ends of each spear, and cook asparagus in boiling water for really just a few minutes—no more than 4. Take the asparagus out with tongs (rather than draining, so you can use the boiling water for pasta.) Cut off the tip of each spear (about 1.5 – 2 inches) and set aside. Chop the remaining spears into pieces.

Into your food processor, place:
The chopped spears,
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of olive oil
About 1.5 tablespoons of lemon juice
3 tablespoons of hot water from the asparagus/pasta pot
A handful of fresh basil leaves (just under ¼ cup, I’d guess.)
Process until smooth.

Serve over your choice of pasta (I used linguine) and top with the reserved asparagus tips and some grated parmesan.

WARNING: Don’t make this stuff if you’re planning on getting hot and heavy with anyone. You’re ingesting about a half-pound of asparagus per serving, so it makes your pee (and thus, your nether regions) smell like a garbage dump on a hot day in July. Seriously. I’m sorry.

I served this with baked goat cheese, because goat cheese is my new obsession (take that, milk allergy!) Goat cheese usually comes in a little roll of 4 ounces. Stick the whole package in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes before you start this, it makes the slicing go much easier, as goat cheese is pretty crumbly. Carefully slice into 4 rounds and dredge each round in seasoned bread crumbs. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 425 for about 6-8 minutes. Yeah!



The concept of baked goat cheese nearly pushed Rob to the brink of a nervous breakdown, but he pushed through. Unfortunately, I didn't freeze the goat cheese long enough and it was still a little crumbly, so that kind of sucked. But he really liked the pesto, so he gave it a rating7.5 hot dogs.

I Am Really Gonna Miss the Farmer's Markets

After another successful farmer’s market outing (please don’t go away for the winter, farmer’s markets! Please? I just really love cooking with seasonal, locally grown vegetables. God!) I decided to roast everything that looked good and make cilantro pesto with some pasta. It turned out better than I expected.

Roasted Veggie Pasta with Cilantro Pesto



I’ve always been a fan of basil pesto, but I’ve been on such a cilantro kick lately that I figured it would work too.

So I made this with butternut squash, zucchini and red potatoes. To roast them, begin with the squash (cut it in half, scrape the innards out, cut off the hard outer shell while being very careful not to lose a finger, because that shell is hard as hell to cut off, then cube the flesh.) Add the cubed zucchini and halved potatoes. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little Italian seasoning. Bake on a cookie sheet or in a roasting pan for about 30 minutes for all of them. Stir occasionally, and adjust cooking times for how well-done you like your veggies. Make sure to read Rob's review for more info on this.

For the cilantro pesto, I mixed a big handful of cilantro leaves, olive oil, fresh grated parmesan, peanuts, salt and pepper. I really have no idea what the measurements were here, but start with a little olive oil and keep adding more (or add a bit of water, if you’re worried about fat EVEN THOUGH IT’S THE GOOD FAT) until it’s the consistency you want.

I garnished with peanuts and parmesan to mirror the flavors in the pesto and served the whole thing over whole wheat rotini, to a very dubious boyfriend. The words “cilantro pesto” are enough to make him run for the nearest Burger King.



Rob's review:

Surprisingly, he didn't cry, or stick out his tongue, or pound his fists on the floor! He just said the zucchini was a little overcooked and gave it 7.5 hot dogs. Whew! To counteract that, i think next time I'd just roast the squash and potatoes together and saute the zucchini in a little oil on the stove, just for a few minutes. It can't seem to handle the long cooking process of roasting without getting flimsy and a little gross. Lesson learned. Anyway...



There you have it.