CILANTRO WALNUT PESTO

facebook share image   twitter share image   pinterest share image   E-Mail share image



Cilantro Walnut Pesto image

For a light pasta sauce with a pungent herb taste. I made this because cilantro is much cheaper than basil at the grocery store. I served this with a mixture of pasta and cooked spaghetti squash. I didn't measure (I'm bad at that) so keep that in mind and just add amounts that suit your needs.

Provided by Korkin

Categories     Sauces

Time 15m

Yield 1 cup

Number Of Ingredients 9

1/4 chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
1 bunch cilantro
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Steps:

  • Heat the walnuts in skillet over medium heat to toast. They are done when they smell slightly toasty and nutty.
  • Meanwhile, get to chopping. Start with the garlic then gradually add in the cilantro, cheese, and evenutally the walnuts when toasted. Chop until the mixture is very fine, almost a paste. Add the seasonings, zest and juice and mix.
  • Pour a drizzle of olive oil over the pesto slowly until it is saturated. Taste it and adjust the seasonings to your liking.
  • When serving, reserve 1/4 cup hot cooking liquid and toss in a bowl with the hot pasta or veggies. Do not cook or it will lose a lot of its flavor. Add extra oil and lemon juice or rice vinegar to make it a dressing. A good dressing ratio is 2 parts oil to one part acid.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 557.5, Fat 57.8, SaturatedFat 9.3, Cholesterol 8.8, Sodium 2496, Carbohydrate 7.6, Fiber 1.9, Sugar 0.9, Protein 5.5

There are no comments yet!