When my Bon Appetit magazine came in the mail this month, I instantly fell in love with the idea of a parsley pesto. After trying my own hand at basil pesto, and even spinach arugula pesto, I knew this had to find it's way into my kitchen.
So last week, when Ryan was working/studying for the Bar Exam late (oh wait, that's every night), I pulled out the recipe and went to work. Except, instead of using spaghetti, I decided to make the dish my own and use up the rest of the campanelle we had lying around. I'm so glad I did - the beautiful noodle bells trapped some of the fresh pesto inside the twirls.
No. Cherries have nothing to do with this dish.
Except for color, of course. I mean, can you blame me? Look at that deep, dark, red. It was gorgeous.
And tasted that way, too.
The pesto tasted SO fresh. It was a completely different flavor explosion than I'm used to. I guess I've just programmed my taste buds to go into basil mode whenever I hear the word pesto. Boy did I take them for a ride.
The only thing I think I'd add to this dish was a bit more salt. Other than that, it was really light, lovely, and loaded with some serious well... parsley.
makes about 4 servings
Ingredients:
1/2 C unsalted roasted almonds
4 C packed fresh parsley
3/4 C chopped fresh chives
3/4 C EVOO
1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 C parmesan
1/2 lb campanelle
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. To make the pesto, pulse almonds, parlsey, chives, oil, lemon juice, and parmesan in a food processor until thoroughly combined and very smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain pasta except for about 2 cups of pasta water.
3. Toss hot pasta and pesto in a large bowl. Add cooking liquid about 1/4 C at a time until pasta is saucy. Season with more salt and pepper - and top with more parmesan.
recipe source: bon appetit magazine, June issue
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I love pestos. Due to tree nut allergies, I have to tweak pesto recipes to either leave out the nuts or substitute sunflower seeds for nuts if a nutty flavor/crunch is essential. Surprisingly, most pesto is wonderful even without any nuts. Its the green (which ever green thing you are using)that is the real star of pesto. :) I haven't tried parsley pesto yet. This looks delicious (and your photos make me very hungry)!
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