PENNE WITH PEA PESTO

SERVES4 TO 6

• ACTIVE TIME:10 MIN
• START TO FINISH:20 MIN

• 1 (10-oz) package frozen peas
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup pine nuts (2 oz)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus additional for serving
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 lb penne

• Cook peas on the stove or in a microwave according to package directions, then drain well.
• With food processor running, drop in garlic and finely chop. Turn off motor and add peas, nuts, cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, then process until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil, blending until incorporated.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta in a colander.
• Toss pasta with pea pesto and thin as desired with reserved cooking water. Season with freshly ground pepper.

Gnocchi with Spring Herb Pesto

Extreme Green Dinner: part 2. Quick tip: buy pre-packaged or frozen gnocchi. You’ll save a TON of time, as gnocchi are really hard to make and even harder to make well. We get ours at Trader Joe’s. Mmmm!

Gnocchi with Spring Herb Pesto

Recipe from Emeril. We didn’t put arugula in the pesto, I’m not a big fan of it. But, it might have actually been pretty good! This recipe makes ALOT of pesto – I did about half this recipe and no arugula and there was plenty of sauce. Unless of course, you like a lot of sauce… then go for it!
Makes 4-6 servings.

INGREDIENTS
4 cups baby arugula
4 cups basil leaves
1 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup
Salt and pepper
1 pound fresh gnocchi

DIRECTIONS
In the bowl of a food processor, combine arugula, basil, pine nuts, Parmesan, and garlic. With the motor running, add 1 cup olive oil in a slow stream until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, add gnocchi. Cook until they rise to the surface, just a few minutes for fresh pasta. Drain well, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.

In a large pan or bowl, combine pesto with remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and reserved pasta water. Pesto should become a sauce-like consistency. Add gnocchi and toss to combine. Serve, garnished with extra cheese.

Sautaced Bass with Mint Pesto and Spiced Carrots

So tonight we cooked the fancy fish dish. We didn’t use bass, but frozen dover sole. The fillets almost fell apart in the cooking process (so excuse the ugly plating), but it was still a delicious dish nonetheless. We weren’t too fond of the carrots cooked in chicken broth though… maybe something like white wine or vegetable broth would have been better. The mint pesto is delicious! So who designated this the week of pesto?

Sautéed Bass with Mint Pesto and Spiced Carrots

Recipe from Bon Appetit. This will be the last recipe we make from the April ‘07 issue… seeing as Taylor made a mess with the fish and spilled raw fish juice all over the magazine, so now it is contaminated. Ooops. Some good recipes in there too!
Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS
Pesto:
1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup lightly toasted shelled unsalted pistachios
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
coarse kosher salt

Fish:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
4 6-8oz striped bass fillets (with or without skin)

Spiced Carrots:
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
12 ounces medium carrots, peeled, thinly sliced into rounds
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
For pesto: blend mint leaves, pistachios, olive oil, and garlic in processor until coarse puree forms. Season with coarse salt. Can be made 1 day ahead; cover and chill, bring to room temperature before using.

For fish: combine olive oil, mint, and thyme in small bowl. Spread herb mixture all over both sides of fish fillets. Cover and refrigerate fish at least 3 hours and up to 5 hours (yeah right… we marinated for maybe 30 minutes tops).

For spiced carrots: Stir all seeds in small dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer seeds to spice mill or mortar and grind coarsely.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots, crushed red pepper, and ground seeds; sauté until carrots begin to brown in spots, about 5 minutes. Add broth and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until carrots are tender, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in each of 2 large nonstick skillets over medium-high heat. Add fish and cook until browned on both sides and just opaque in center, about 5 minutes total.

Divide carrots and any juices among 4 plates. Top each serving with 1 fish fillet. Spoon pesto over and serve.

Kabob-less Lamb Kabobs with Mint Pesto

These were supposed to be kabobs, but we didn’t want to deal with soaking the skewers or our miniature grill or the hassle of cleaning the caste-iron grill pan, so we just sautéed them all together instead. There was a lot of liquid in the marinade (that we *cough* only marinated for 20 minutes), so it didn’t brown that nicely, so we tossed it in the broiler for a few minutes at the end instead. Someday when we actually have space to grill we’ll have to try these again on actual kabobs.

Makes 16 mini-kabobs (or about 4-6 servings). Recipe from Wolfgang Puck.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, minced
1/4 cup minced mint leaves
1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
1 teaspoon minced rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon minced oregano leaves
2 pounds boneless lamb leg or shoulder, cleaned and cut into 1 1/2 -inch cubes, makes about 32 pieces
16 (8-inch skewers) *see cook’s note
16 pear or cherry tomatoes
16 pearl onions, peeled
1 large green pepper, cored, seeded, cut into 1-inch squares (at least 16 pieces)
16 small button mushrooms
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Mint Pesto:
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon honey
Pinch kosher salt
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil

DIRECTIONS
In a non-reactive bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, garlic, onion, mint, parsley, rosemary, and oregano. Add the lamb and toss to coat well. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Preheat the grill or a grill pan on high.

On each skewer, thread a tomato, meat, onion, pepper, meat and mushroom. Repeat until you have 16 prepared skewers. Season the skewers with salt and pepper. Grill to desired doneness, about 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium to medium-rare.

To make mint pesto, combine all of the ingredients except for the oil in the blender. Pulse until well pureed. With the blender running on low, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Drizzle over kabobs and serve.

*Note: if using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before placing on the grill.

Penne with Pistachio Arugula Pesto and Balsamic Glazed Veggies

Found this recipe while perusing the wonderfully fantastic food blog,VeganYumYum. I’m usually not a huge fan of Arugula, too bitter for my tastes, but paired with the pistachio and miso is just perfect.

Penne with Pistachio Arugula Pesto and Balsamic Glazed Veggies

Makes 2 servings. Recipe from VeganYumYum.

INGREDIENTS
8 stalks broccolini (try to find it if you can… it really is so much better than regular broccoli!)
2 yellow squash
2 cups dry penne
2 Tbs olive oil
pepper
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 pinch salt

For Pesto:
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted pistachios
2 tbs sweet white miso (which we couldn’t find… we used a miso salad dressing)
1 pinch salt
2 cups arugula
4-5 Tbs olive oil
pepper

DIRECTIONS
Start heating pasta water. Place pistachios in the bowl of a food processor with salt and miso and pulse 4 times for 1 second per pulse. Roughly chop arugula and add it to the top. Drizzle in olive oil. Do not finish processing until pasta is completed.

Cook your pasta. A few minutes before pasta is finished, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan until over medium until fairly hot but not smoking. Trim any dry ends off the broccolini but leave a long stalk. Add it to the hot pan with a pinch of salt. Let cook on one side for 1-2 minutes, or until browned, then turn with tongs to cook another side. When broccolini is bright green and tender crisp, turn off heat and add vinegar, tossing vigorously to coat.

Cut squash in half. Heat another few tablespoons of olive oil, and add squash, face down, to pan. Let cook, without moving, for a few minutes, or until brown and caramelized. Turn and let cook on other side for a few minutes, or until tender. Finish with a dash of balsamic vinegar.

Blend the pesto until well combined, but you should still be able to see chunks of pistachios and arugula.

Drain and toss pasta with pesto (you’ll have some left over). Plate and layer broccolini and squash on top. Serve immediately.

Linguine with Pesto Trapanese

This was a quick and refreshing dinner. And by quick, I mean quick. In the time it takes to cook the pasta, this meal is done and delicious. A summery meal in the middle of winter is always a nice change. Especially if, by some miracle, the basil plant that you came so close to killing is still hanging on for dear life. Don’t ask me how – this is the same basil plant that turned a lovely shade of greenish yellow earlier in the summer. Only after a long talk with the plant-guru at the farmers’ market nursery and a soil change per his recommendations did this plant begin to thrive. And by thrive I mean explode. It definitely slowed down when we brought it inside this winter, and I was expecting it to last a few weeks and slowly die off. But nope. It’s still going, still growing, and even threatened to flower on us a few times. Go figure.

Needless to say, fresh basil makes this recipe. It’s a twist on the typical pesto, with the addition of almonds and tomatoes. One pot, a food processor, 15 minutes, and you’re done. Aren’t those the best kind of meals?

Linguine with Pesto Trapanese

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from Gourmet.

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 large handful fresh basil leaves
1 to 2 large garlic cloves
Several sprinkles of sea salt
6 ripe plum tomatoes
Handful of grated Pecorino (about 1/2 cup)
A generous splash of olive oil (about 1/3 cup)
1 pound linguine

DIRECTIONS
Sauté the almonds in a little olive oil until tan.

Put basil, garlic, and salt in food processor and chop. Put aside.

Put in almonds and pulse until size of orzo.

Put tomatoes, almonds, basil garlic, cheese, and olive oil back in food processor and whir briefly. Add some fresh-ground coarse pepper.

Boil linguine. If you are Sicilian, become hysterical at the prospect of overcooked pasta. Break open a strand every 60 seconds, and when there is one tiny white speck at the center, drain instantly. Save a cupful of pasta water.

Put pasta in with pesto and mix quickly. Add a little pasta water if necessary. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.