Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Mint Pesto

This mint pesto turned out beyond my expectations - it really works and it keeps well in the refrigerator. If you have mint growing wild in your garden, this is a really great use for it. The proportions for this recipe are estimated and your mileage may vary!

Ingredients:
7-8 cups washed mint leaves (no stems)
1/2 - 3/4 c raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 - 3/4 c raw almonds
1/2 c pumpkin seed oil
2-4 T agave syrup
3-6 peeled & coarsely chopped or smashed garlic cloves
2 serrano chiles, seeded & coarsely chopped
Sea salt, to taste
Olive oil, as needed

  1. Wash and strip enough good mint leaves to fill your 7 c Cuisinart
  2. chop 1/2 c raw pumpkin seeds and 1/2-3/4 c raw almonds
  3. Add a few handfuls of leaves to the food processor & process til it starts to blend up a bit
  4. Add some pumpkin seed oil, alternating with olive oil for taste
  5. Coarsely chopp 2 serrano chiles and add to food processor with more mint leaves
  6. Coarsely chop 3-6 cloves garlic, add to food processor with more mint leaves
  7. Add juice from 2 limes and more mint leaves
  8. Add sea salt and 2 tb agave syrup and rest of mint leaves
  9. Process the heck out of this til it's smooth - add water or veg broth to thin it out if necessary.
Be sure to tap your storage containers to get out air bubbles, then cover the pesto with a layer of olive oil to help keep it fresh.

This pesto is great on pasta, mixed into potatoes and everything. Plenty of mint, so plenty of opportunities to experiment!

3 comments:

BitterSweet said...

Love the sound of this! Tradition pesto totally turns me off (hate pine nuts and not too fond of basil) so I'm digging this variation.

Jenn said...

Thanks! I hope you enjoy it - and experiment with other greens for pesto. I have done chard & pecan, too - that came out great (I did a quick dip of the chard in hot water before I put it in the processor tho).

Basically:
1 bunch of green stuff
oil of choice
nuts of choice
salt & spices of choice

Voila! Pesto!

I think I am going to make some out of the radish greens I saved...

Unknown said...

Fiddlehead pesto is also delicious and you can keep it in the freezer as well.