Presto Pesto: Part II

My last pesto was so mind-blowingly amazing, I thought I'd give it another shot tonight. Like last time, I was working with what I had in the fridge ... and I've determined being forced to use what's on hand is a huge source of inspiration. It's sort of like I'm in the Chopped kitchen and Bill is Ted Allen ... plus all of the judges! Some nights I get chopped and others ... well, I don't walk away with 10 grand, but at least I have a happy husband :)

Today I found in my basket ... I mean refrigerator ... a bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley, a carton of grape tomatoes, and a container of fresh mozzarella. (My ingredients aren't nearly as obscure as the show's, but way easier to work with!) Immediately, I conjured up images of caprese salad, but turned into a pasta.

Now I have to be honest and admit that Bill wasn't the biggest fan of this dish (which means I got chopped tonight). I agree that it wasn't as spectacular as the Cilantro Pesto. But I thought it was still pretty darn good, thanks in part to a (rare) stroke of genius I had. I decided to toss the tomatoes in with the boiling pasta for just a couple minutes to see what happened. And what happened was delicious! They burst ever-so-slightly in the water and released yummy, tomato-y juices. Plus, I loved the texture of the cooked tomatoes and how the hot pasta made the cheese melt just a little bit ... Yum!

Caprese Pesto Pasta
Ingredients:
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 bunch Italian parsley leaves
3 garlic cloves
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 cup finely grated Romano cheese
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 lb. pasta (of your choice)
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup fresh mozzarella pearls

Directions:
Pulse pine nuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add parsley, garlic, red pepper flakes, and cheese. Blend until smooth. With food processor running, add lemon juice and oilve oil. Blend until well-combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, you should be boiling your pasta. Toss tomatoes into boiling pasta with 2 minutes left. When pasta is cooked, reserve 1 ladle of the cooking liquid, then drain pasta and tomatoes. Toss warm pasta with pesto and mozzarella pearls, adding reserved cooking liquid as necessary (I only added a tablespoon or so). Serve.

Twirled Tour: Presto Pesto!

Since we're heading down to Chicago this weekend, we don't have a lot of food in the house. And when I don't have a lot in the fridge, I typically resort to pasta for dinner. In honor of Festa Italiana this weekend, I thought I'd try something new ... and while cilantro may not be a traditionally Italian ingredient, I definitely think I pulled it off!

Cilantro Pesto
Ingredients:
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 packed cup cilantro leaves
3 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 lb. pasta (of your choice)

Directions:
Pulse pine nuts in a food processor until finely ground. Add cilantro, garlic, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 cup cheese. Blend until smooth. With food processor running, add lemon juice and oilve oil. Blend until well-combined. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, you should be boiling your pasta. When pasta is cooked, reserve 1 ladle of the cooking liquid, then drain pasta. Toss warm pasta with pesto, adding reserved cooking liquid as necessary (I only added a tablespoon or so).

Serve topped with remaining cheese.


I'm feeling pretty proud (or full) of myself right now, because this dish was AMAZING. If you read my blog often, you've probably noticed that I don't whip up a lot of my own recipes ... I tend to stick to sources I trust, like America's Test Kitchen or just about any Food Network chef. But I realize that I need to get more creative in the kitchen, and this was one attempt. Thank god it worked out!

I was unsure of my pine nut-cilantro-Romano combination, but the flavors worked somewhat surprisingly well together. I had to make a couple of adjustments because I initially went too heavy with the lemon juice, but a bit more of the salty Romano cheese mellowed out that tartness. I also had a heavy hand with the red pepper flakes (probably because Bill likes it spicy and I aim to please!), so I'll scale back next time. (The measurements above reflect that scaling back ... I probably used closer to 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes tonight).

I cannot wait to make this pesto again. Actually, I technically made it twice tonight! Bill and I were both so in love with it that I boiled a second pot of pasta to use up the leftovers right away :)