If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that I hate wasting ingredients. I knew that I wouldn't have time to use the cilantro before they started to wilt so I decided to make my standard freezer-bound pesto. I rinsed the cilantro and threw half of the bunch in the food processor with some chopped walnuts and grated Parmesan cheese.
Once the cilantro was pureed, I added the remaining cilantro, some peanuts and more grated Parmesan cheese.
Once everything was pureed, I poured in some olive oil and the lemon juice from a lemon (that was also almost past its prime). I then seasoned with salt and pepper, and tasted. I kept adding olive oil until I got the perfect texture.
I poured the cilantro pesto into a plastic container, drizzled some more olive oil, sealed the air out with pressed plastic wrap, and covered the pesto.
The pesto went straight into the freezer and I'm definitely going to be using some of it in the future to make marinades or for a fun pesto dip!
Tell me, how do you make the most of every ingredient?
13 comments:
I love freezing pesto. I freeze mine in a mini ice cube tray so I can just pop one or two out at a time. I hate wasting ingredients too.
I know sometimes cilantro gets a bad, soapy rep but I love the stuff. I'm a pesto gal through and through and having some cilantro pesto on hand sounds like a great idea to me. :)
great idea!! I never know what to do with leftover cilantro and it usually goes to waste! I cannot wait to try this out next time :)
Your parsley pesto from last year inspires me to make my pesto whenever I find the inevitable leftover bunch sitting in my fridge.
Sometimes I puree white beans with the pesto ingredients and cut down the oil to make a dip or a slightly less traditional pesto sauce.
I love using up ingredients in fun and flavorful ways. Using peanuts here was a great idea. I've used many other nuts in pesto, from walnuts to pecans, but peanuts are a first!
this pesto is beautiful!
can't wait to see you in t-1.5 hours!!
I freeze everything from bread to fruit. I love pesto and would have it over pasta. Yum!
You know me, I love whipping up my "fridge" meals! Freezing items are always great!
such a great tip, i love freezing things like ginger and chipotles too, b/c i seldom use it all in one go!
My garden flourishes with fresh cilantro all year round (weird because we've had tons of chilly chilly nights!) - so this is a great way to make use of it!
Great idea - and love that you made a non-traditional pesto. Meal planning helps me use up most ingredients but stuff ravioli or making soups/stews with odds and ends helps too!
I love cilantro. My affection for it has grown a lot in the past few years. I don't think I've ever actually had an only-cilantro pesto.
I need to be better about doing this. I just threw out a bunch of parsley and cilantro that I had forgotten about in the veggie drawer.
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