Play with your Pesto

I came late to the pesto party.  It was The Thing back in–was it the 80’s?  Then it fell out of fashion from overuse.  And I’m sure I was served the ominously dark green stuff out of a plastic carton one too many times.  

Then, returning from a trip to Italy a few years ago, all that changed.  We were on our way home and we got off the autoroute to have lunch. We ended up in a particularly nondescript looking town where there was only one restaurant, as void of character as the town itself.  I ordered pasta with pesto, one of the two lunch choices, feeling grumpy that this was to be my last Italian meal of the trip.  Boy was I humbled!  Vibrant green, freshly made, the pesto was so luscious  that I almost embarrassed myself and ordered a second bowl. 

I’ve been playing around with it ever since.  And that’s the thing:  you CAN play around with it.  As long as you put fresh herbs, hard Italian cheese and lots of garlic and nuts, you can mix and mash however you like. 

Pesto is said to have originated in the Liguria region, just beyond the Côte d’Azur.  It definitely made the trip across the border to Provence, where it is called pistou, though it’s often made without the nuts.  The Italians use a mortar and pestle to make it (a food processor works just fine too, if slow cooking isn’t your thing).  The pestle gave it its name, or perhaps it sprang from the Italian word for ‘crush’, which sounds similar.  I’m offering up the proportions I use, and beyond that, the choice is yours.  Bonus points:  make lots of pesto now when fresh herbs are plentiful.  It freezes well, so some day when you’ve got the winter blues, you can bring it out for a little splash of summer.

Now what to do with it?  Serve it with pasta, of course, usually it’s mixed with a thin flat pasta. You can add other veggies to the pasta at the last moment, like peas or tomatoes.  Drizzle it over your mozzarella;  put some in your soup or nap your veggies with it.  Got more ideas?  We’d all love to hear them!  I myself have tons of it in my freezer, awaiting inspiration or your recipes.  I’ve thrown in a favorite party recipe that you make with pistou, too.

RECIPE:  Pesto/Pistou, Many Ways

The traditional ingredients:

• 4 cups packed basil leaves 
• 4 cloves garlic
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• ½ cup nuts: pine nuts 
• ½ cup good olive oil    
• ½ cup  fresh grated parmesan cheese,  or you can mix in some pecorino 

In place of the basil, use these herbs, or a mixture: 

• arugula (rocket, or roquette)
• Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
• cilantro
• baby spinach
• mint 

If you like add a bit of these, a little goes a long way: 

• rosemary 
• tarragon 

Instead of pine nuts, try these, or a mixture:

• almonds
• pecans
• walnuts
• pistachios

To make:  

Put ingredients in a food processor, except cheese.  Mix as you slowly pour in oil.  Scrape sides, pulse again.  Add chese and pulse a few times.  Taste and correct seasonings.  Makes about a cup.  Store in fridge with plastic wrap directly on surface to keep air out and retain color, or coat it with a film of olive oil, or freeze. 

Tips: Toast the nuts lightly if you wish, to get more depth of flavor. If using basil,  you can add a couple of tablespoons of parsley to help keep the bright color.  When mixing pesto with pasta, add a tablespoon of the pasta cooking water to the mix, for the perfect consistency.

RECIPE:  Rainbow Steaks with Pistou  

I love to make this colorful and easy dish for guests.  PHOTO: I'm traveling, no grill, so I made this on the stovetop.  For a party I put the steaks on a big platter with the peppers, cut into big chunks, and onions cut into wedges or thick slices.

• steaks for the grill
• pistou, made with half parsley and half basil, or your favorite herbs
• red, green, and yellow peppers, quartered or cut into large pieces
• red onion slices, quartered if small or cut into thick slices if large.

Make pesto using above directions, omitting nuts and cheese.  Spread it liberally on steaks, put them on a plate, and leave them in the fridge to marinate for a couple of hours.  Put some pistou aside for serving.

Grill pepper and onions.   Scrape off most of the marinade from the steaks and discard (if you leave too much on, the grill may flare up due to the oil).  Grill steaks.  Put steaks on plates or a platter and nap with a bit more pistou.  Serve with peppers and onions. 

In the Comments this week:  Lots of chocolate cake lovers (and Woody Allen lovers!), thanks for all the lovely comments.  I'm still thinking about that devil's food cake with caramel butter fudge icing that Anne tortured us with.  Don't miss Leslie's funny quote.   And if there's anyone out there in Liverpool, Julian invites you to his French Club.

Favorite Reads:  No French or southern connection here, but I'm currently reading a page-turner (and thought-provoker) that a friend gave me called The The Postmistress, Sarah Blake's historical novel about small town American life during World War II.

Our Reader's Blogs:  If you're into vintage, and antiques, you'll want to go to Barbara's site at www.thewisecollector.com and to www.silvermagpies.com.