Saturday, April 18, 2009

Pesto


After a few unexpected and unpleasant mysterious allergic reactions (anaphylactic tightness of throat and chest, nausea, and hives on my lips) I've narrowed down my allergy to pine nuts. This became clear after a number of unhappy pesto meals. Pesto? Oh No! I love Pesto! What could i do without pesto? It is so delicious and a staple meal in my family. Ugh. But wait! Further analysis has shown me that pesto does not have to me made with pine nuts. It can be made with walnuts. I used to cringe whenever I came across any recipe that required the food processor, but recently we've been becoming friends, so I though I would try out a new recipe:

Pesto Spread

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (to taste)

(via the kitchen sink)

This recipe was excellent, even with a few flaws. First, and this is my fault, I thought I had walnuts on hand but in fact has pecan so I substituted. It seemed to make little difference. Second, I think this recipe is intended to be spread on bread, so I think next time I will use 1/4 cup olive oil to make it better for pasta. But otherwise I think I found a winner. Pesto is still in my future.  

2 comments:

Kate said...

pesto reminds me of dad. in addition to sausage and beans (which is a more challenging meal for you in your current stage of life).

Elise said...

Yay! I love pesto. But what else has pine nuts in it?

Welcome!

Welcome!