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Some time ago, I caught an episode of celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Italian that focused on pesto. What surprised me was the sheer variety of pestos that could be made. The episode, aptly entitled "the Power of Pesto" included a spinach and pine nut pesto, a sun-dried tomato pesto, and a mushroom pesto.
The reason this episode's preparations surprised me was because I always thought that pesto had to be made with pine nuts, basil, garlic, olive oil, and parmesano reggiano. In other words, It had to be green. This is clearly not true. According to Wikipedia, while the sauce may have originated in the city of Genoa, Italy, pesto's etymology has more to do with the action of pounding or crushing herbs and garlic. As such, pesto can be made with just about everything from roasted red peppers and sun-dried tomatoes to mint and spinach. Alton Brown even made a pesto, replacing the expensive pine nuts with pistachios. It was high time that I made a pesto!
Given that it's now mid-summer and my herb trays are teaming with abundance, I figured the neighborhood Herb & Spice (1273 Wellington Street W) store would have the necessary ingredients for me to take an inaugural run. Before we go any further, let me point out that, to my knowledge, there are two Herb & Spice stores in Ottawa. One is in my neck of the woods, the Wellington Village. The other is in downtown Ottawa, at 375 Bank Street. Both stores specialize in selling organic produce. Their displays are lush with variety.
After a couple minutes' shopping, my better half and I picked up a bag of pistachios, a large bunch of fresh curly leaf parsley, and a basil plant. That's no typo. Herb and Spice was actually selling entire basil plants that looked like they were about to flower - roots and all. The cost: $1.79 each. In total, I paid approximately $6-$7 for the ingredients.
What came next was me playing with reckless abandon with the ingredients and my all-metal Hamilton Beach blender. After some rough chopping, poking, scraping, and pulsing, I somehow managed to produce a pesto. Later that evening, Jenn and I sat down to dinner with a fresh bowl of basil pesto and some toasted bread. It was wonderful.
Here's what ended up going into the pesto: juice of one orange, juice of one lemon, approximately 2 cups of packed basil leaves (aka: one plant's worth), approximately 3/4 cup of curly leaf parsley (aka: half of a large bunch), approximately 1/2 cup of olive oil, approximately 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, almost 2/3 cup of shelled pistachios, and two pinches of salt and pepper. The nuts and herbs contributed lovely textures and flavors. The acidic notes from the citrus juice topped everything off perfectly.
The next day, Jenn made herself a bowl of spaghetti with the pesto and proceeded to e-mail me about how incredible it tasted. Were it not for the fact that I was craving pastrami, I would have prepared the same thing for dinner...Oh well...
I guess I'll have to add cheese and garlic next time. There will definitely be a next time!
On a somewhat related note, according to Dr. Andrew Weil from Yahoo.com, pistachios can be a component of a heart healthy diet.
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The reason this episode's preparations surprised me was because I always thought that pesto had to be made with pine nuts, basil, garlic, olive oil, and parmesano reggiano. In other words, It had to be green. This is clearly not true. According to Wikipedia, while the sauce may have originated in the city of Genoa, Italy, pesto's etymology has more to do with the action of pounding or crushing herbs and garlic. As such, pesto can be made with just about everything from roasted red peppers and sun-dried tomatoes to mint and spinach. Alton Brown even made a pesto, replacing the expensive pine nuts with pistachios. It was high time that I made a pesto!
Given that it's now mid-summer and my herb trays are teaming with abundance, I figured the neighborhood Herb & Spice (1273 Wellington Street W) store would have the necessary ingredients for me to take an inaugural run. Before we go any further, let me point out that, to my knowledge, there are two Herb & Spice stores in Ottawa. One is in my neck of the woods, the Wellington Village. The other is in downtown Ottawa, at 375 Bank Street. Both stores specialize in selling organic produce. Their displays are lush with variety.
After a couple minutes' shopping, my better half and I picked up a bag of pistachios, a large bunch of fresh curly leaf parsley, and a basil plant. That's no typo. Herb and Spice was actually selling entire basil plants that looked like they were about to flower - roots and all. The cost: $1.79 each. In total, I paid approximately $6-$7 for the ingredients.
What came next was me playing with reckless abandon with the ingredients and my all-metal Hamilton Beach blender. After some rough chopping, poking, scraping, and pulsing, I somehow managed to produce a pesto. Later that evening, Jenn and I sat down to dinner with a fresh bowl of basil pesto and some toasted bread. It was wonderful.
Here's what ended up going into the pesto: juice of one orange, juice of one lemon, approximately 2 cups of packed basil leaves (aka: one plant's worth), approximately 3/4 cup of curly leaf parsley (aka: half of a large bunch), approximately 1/2 cup of olive oil, approximately 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, almost 2/3 cup of shelled pistachios, and two pinches of salt and pepper. The nuts and herbs contributed lovely textures and flavors. The acidic notes from the citrus juice topped everything off perfectly.
The next day, Jenn made herself a bowl of spaghetti with the pesto and proceeded to e-mail me about how incredible it tasted. Were it not for the fact that I was craving pastrami, I would have prepared the same thing for dinner...Oh well...
I guess I'll have to add cheese and garlic next time. There will definitely be a next time!
On a somewhat related note, according to Dr. Andrew Weil from Yahoo.com, pistachios can be a component of a heart healthy diet.
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Tag(s): pesto, Wellington Village
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