Recipe by Jessica B. Gebhart, RDN, LD
Total Time: 15 minutes, Makes: 1 small jar
Ingredients:
- 2 large handfuls of radish leaves, stems removed
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup pistachios
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Red pepper flakes (optional)
Directions:
- Put all the ingredients in a food processor or a blender. Using short pulses, blend the ingredients until they are a smooth paste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice to get all the ingredients processed.
- If you would like the pesto to be thinner add more oil a tablespoon at a time and blend, until you get the consistency you are looking for.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container and use within 2-3 days. It will last longer with a thin layer of oil over the top.
USES:
- Serve as a sauce for pasta. Protein you could put in a pesto pasta: chicken, fish, italian sausage, chickpeas, or cannellini beans. Vegetables you could put in a pesto pasta: artichokes, summer squash, tomatoes, garlic scapes, spring onions, peas, corn, broccoli, and cauliflower.
- Spread it on a pizza.
- Add it to a salad or soup. This is a great condiment. Putting a spoonful into your bowl of soup adds a richness and depth of flavor. It does the same for a salad.
- Use it to dress a potato salad. This pesto works great for a potato salad and takes the dish in a herb vinegar direction instead of creamy. Add a tablespoon of red wine vinegar and olive oil each if your pesto is a little too thick to incorporate with the potatoes. Great vegetables to mix with potatoes for a herbed potato salad: peas, garlic scapes, bell peppers, turnips, radishes, corn, tomatoes, edamame, fresh herbs, and celery.
- Spread on a sandwich.
- Mix into hummus. This can be an eye catching side to bring to a party. Drop dollops of pesto on top of the hummus then drag a fork in a swirl or spiral pattern over the top of the hummus and through the pesto. This begins to mix it in but leaves the patches of pesto intact to contrast with the beige of the hummus.