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Pesto
Proposals & Suggested Recipies
Give
your everyday meals a gourmet feel with pesto . Pesto is a
combination of fragrant basil leaves, hearty garlic, tangy Parmesan
cheese, rich olive oil, and delicate pine nuts or walnuts, pureed to a
delectable, thick sauce. Pesto has its origins in Liguria, Italy, where
people have been making it for hundreds of years with the brilliant
green basil that grows wild on the hillsides. The popularity of pesto
has spread like crazy as people across the world have come to love its
heady aroma and its bold, satisfying flavor.
Pasta Loves Pesto? Pesto's most popular use, and the way you're
probably
the most familiar with it, is as a pasta sauce. You can make a quick,
easy and delicious meal by tossing some pesto with hot pasta and some
sautÈed veggies and perhaps some diced leftover meat. Pesto has
a very concentrated flavor, so you should use it more sparingly than
you would other pasta sauces or it will overpower the flavor of your
meal. When using pesto as a pasta sauce, do as the Italians do: before
draining the pasta, dip a cupful of the cooking water out of the pot.
Blend the water with some pesto a little at a time until the sauce is
smooth and creamy. The starch in the water will give the sauce a silky
consistency and will make it easier for the sauce to evenly coat and
cling to each and every piece of pasta.
Pesto Adds a Punch to Every Meal? Ready-made pesto is available from
your local grocery store in shelf-stable jars, in the freezer section,
or fresh from the refrigerator case, and it's great for a lot more than
just pasta sauce. Here are some other fantastic and easy ways that
pesto can
make your meals rise above the ordinary. Use Pesto:
- As a
sauce or coating for fish, chicken, beef, pork or lamb.
- On pizza in
place of or in addition to the red sauce
- Mixed with
cream sauce or Alfredo sauce and served on fresh ravioli
- As a
sandwich spread or burger topping
- Tossed with
cooked vegetables
- Mixed with
sour cream as a delightful dipping sauce or baked potato topping
- Spread on
bread and broiled for a deluxe alternative to plain ol' garlic bread
- Mixed into
mashed potatoes
- Stirred
into risotto
- Layered in
lasagna
- Dolloped on
soup
- Spread on
crostini and topped with chopped tomatoes, smoked salmon, roasted red
peppers
- or goat
cheese for a fabulous and easy appetizer
- Whisked
into scrambled eggs or folded into omelets
- In pasta
salads
- In potato
salads
- In salad
dressing
- Mixed
with cream cheese and spread on a bagel
Pesto Pointers
The fresh basil that goes into pesto is
very delicate. It will turn brown if it gets very hot or if it's
exposed to air for long periods of time. This means that you shouldn't
boil or microwave your pesto if you want it to remain a beautiful,
brilliant green color. When mixing it with pasta, potatoes, risotto and
the like, stir in the pesto at the last minute, just before serving.
You can store an opened container of pesto for a week in the
refrigerator; keep it looking fresh and green by blocking out the
oxygen. Do this by covering the top with a layer of olive oil or by
laying a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pesto.
If you want to preserve your pesto for more than a week, remember that
it freezes beautifully. One clever way to freeze pesto in manageable
portion sizes is to spoon it into an ice cube tray, wait until it
freezes solid, and then transfer it to a heavy, freezer-proof plastic
bag. Thaw frozen pesto in the refrigerator or in the microwave on
medium power just until room-temperature.
Whether you choose to make your own or take advantage of the
convenience of storebought pesto, see what it can do for your meals! We
think your family will be saying, "More pesto please!" Here are some
recipes to increase your pesto power!
Pesto
Bread | Italian
Torte | Stuffed
Mushrooms III | Creamy Pesto
Dipping Sauce (for
Veggies) | Chicken Soup au
Pistou | Spinach and
Pasta Salad | Pesto Surprise | Pesto
Vinaigrette Dressing | Crispy Pesto
Potatoes | Baked Pesto
Chicken | Stephan's
Broiled Salmon Pesto
| Pesto
Pizza II | Classic Pizza
Margharita | Smoked Turkey
and Sun-Dried Tomato
Wraps | Pesto and Pasta
with Lemon and Shrimp | Vinaigrette
Pasta Chicken Salad | Chicken Pesto a
la Lisa | Creamy Pesto
Shrimp |Fettuccini al
Fungi | Pesto Lasagna | Pasta with Pesto
and Scallops | Smoked Salmon
Pesto Pasta |
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