Recipes Cooking: pesto

Showing posts with label pesto. Show all posts

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Grilled Basil Pesto Flatbread with Petite Filet and Horseradish Cream

So, the other day I was at my Moms and she was fretting over the abundance of basil she had growing in her herb garden and how she could possibly use it all. I took that as the perfect invitation to make her some homemade basil pesto, for purely selfish reasons of course, as I was secretly hoping she would give me a jar to go. Of course, she did and I put it to good use as a topping on this grilled flatbread with heirloom tomatoes.

I also started experimenting with using hard wood chips in my gas grill. Last night, with the help of a foil packet of water soaked hickory wood chips, I grilled this steak which was gently infused with the rich smokey flavors and aromas. Topped with a horseradish cream it was an outstanding summer grilled meal.

Pesto
2 cups basil
3 garlic cloves
1/3 cup walnuts
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 - 3/4 cup olive oil
salt
pepper

Place all of the indgredients, except for olive oil, in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Gradually, add the olive oil while the processor is running. It will keep for quite some time if kept in a jar under a layer of olive oil and stored in the refrigerator.

Basic Pizza Dough adapted from a recipe by Chris Bianco in "The Gourmet Cookbook"

1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
1 3/4 cups uncleached all-pupose flour, plus more for kneading and dredging
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

Stir together yeast, 1 tablespoon flour, and 1/4 cup warm water in a measuring cup and let stand until surface appears creamy, about 5 minutes.

Stir together 1 1/4 cups flour and salt in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture, oil, and remaining 1/2 cup warm water and stir until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour (about 1/2 cup) so dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Knead dough on a dry surface with lightly floured hands (reflour hands when dough becomes too sticky) until smooth, soft, and elastic, about 8 minutes. Form into 4 balls for individual pizzas and put on a lightly floured surface and generously dust with flour. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/4 hours.

To shape the dough for grilling, do not punch down dough. Carefully dredge 1 ball of dough in a bowl of flour to coat and transfer to a dry work surface. Holding one edge of dough in the air with both hands and letting the bottom touch work surface, carefully move hands around edge of dough (like turning a steering wheel), allowing the weigh of dough to stretch to roughly 4 inches. Transfer to a floured tray and work edges with fingers to get desired shape. Let side on tray for about 15 minutes and prepare per recipe.

Horseradish Cream
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
salt
pepper

Combine all in a mixing bowl and let it sit in the refrigerator for approximately 1 hour to let the flavors combine.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Cilantro Pesto de Esteban

Kick up the usual pesto with fresh, citrusy cilantro.

One of our favorite pesto recipes doesnt have a scrap of basil in it. Nope. Its a cilantro pesto- fresh, citrusy and different. Slather on salmon, corn on the cob, or toasted gluten-free bread. Spoon a dollop into spicy Mexican soups and chili.

Its been quiet on the GFG blog but not-quite-so-quiet here in our little casita by the windswept mesa. You see, a certain gluten-free goddess has been wrestling bare handed with some nagging health issues that living gluten-free hasnt squashed so far (whats up with that?). Im contemplating a post about it because I suspect what Im going through isnt exactly unheard of. In fact, Im willing to bet many gluten-free readers will be able to relate.

And Babycakes, you know Im always one to share. But Im not quite ready to write about it. Im still in the thick of it- but finding some help, at last. And the past two days have been better. And so, I thought Id grab my camera and share a new pesto Esteban just whipped up after a quick trip to Wild Oats in Santa Fe today.

Cilantro Pesto de Esteban

Cilantro, it turns out, is not only a cool accompaniment to hot and spicy dishes and coconut milk sauces, it may be good for you. Cilantro is full of antioxidants and (perhaps?) helps the body to detoxify. Folklore has it aiding the liver in detoxification efforts. Whats not to love about that?

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves- we bought 1 large bunch of cilantro
1 large garlic clove
1/4 cup toasted almonds
1 roasted red pepper
2 ounces Asiago cheese, grated - for vegan and GF/CF, try nutritional yeast
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, as needed

Instructions:

Place the cilantro, garlic, almonds, red pepper and Asiago in a food processor bowl; cover and pulse until finely chopped. Begin adding a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and pulse to combine. Add enough olive oil to make a paste.

Taste test for seasoning or texture adjustments.

Karinas Notes:

Serve a spoonful of cilantro pesto as a flavorful spike to soups and chili, stir-fries and hummus.

Slather it on your favorite rice pasta.

Use it as an appetizer spread with cream cheese and rice crackers.

Schmear it on a brown rice pizza shell and top it with spicy vegetables and shredded jalapeno pepper cheese.

Spoon it on a split baked potato and crumble goat cheese on top.

Use a spoonful to make a salad dressing: just add olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper; whisk till combined.

And dont forget quesadillas - this pesto would be fab on a grilled corn tortilla with sliced fresh tomatoes and shredded cheddar or goat cheese.

Okay, now Im getting hungry. Whens lunch?