Pesto

I've been staying on Nantucket Island with my brother and his family while I wait for a visa to go to Korea which is taking much longer than I was told it would. Anyway, he has a garden with tons of stuff in it and I've been making a lot of stuff with it so these next few posts will feature fresh from the garden food.

Pesto can easily be frozen if you omit the cheese.

I took the recipe from here but made a few changes.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups fresh basil, chopped
• 1/3 pine nuts
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• juice of 1/2 of a lemon
• salt and pepper

Directions:
1) Put the basil in a food processor and blend for about 15 seconds.
2) Add the pine nuts and blend for about 15 seconds again.
3) Add the garlic and blend until you no longer see chunks (time depends on how much you chop them).
4) Add the olive oil in a constant stream (if not possible, just do it in batches of 3).
5) Scrape the sides to push all the basil back in (this might be needed during step 4) and blend for another 15 seconds.
6) This would be the point to freeze if you want to save it for later. If not, add the Parmesan and blend for about 30 seconds.
7) Add the lemon, salt and pepper and blend for 15 seconds.

5 batches of frozen pesto (2.5 batches in each container).

Tomato and Chive Tart

 

 From: BBC Good Food 101 Veggie Dishes

 Ingredients:

•  340 g pack shortcrust pastry
• 200 ml creme fraiche
• 2 eggs
• 2 TBSP green or red pesto
• 6 ripe tomatoes, sliced
• 225 g/8 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
• snipped fresh chives

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 220C/Gas 7/fan 200C.
2) Roll out the pastry and use to line the base and sides of a baking tin.







3) Mix the creme fraiche, eggs and pesto then season.









4) Pour this creamy mixture over the pastry. You might not use it all.








5) Scatter both kinds of tomato on top, then season.
6) Bake for 20 minutes until set.







7) Toss on some chives.
8) Serve cut into big squares, warm or cold.

Pepper, Tomato and Pesto Omeltte

Again, you need to eat well before an exam!

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 of a pepper, cut into small bits
• 1 tomato, cut into small bits with the seeds taken out
• 1 TBSP parsley
• 2 tsp pesto
• 2 TBSP cream cheese

I was skeptical about how the cream cheese would taste, but it worked out well!

1) Place oil in a pan on medium heat.
2) Mix the eggs and seasoning in a cup.
3) Place the egg mixture in the pan.
4) After it is solid, add the pepper, tomato, parsley, pesto and cream cheese, making sure the cream cheese goes around the edges.




5) Flip over the half that does not have filling.
6) After a few minutes, flip it again.

Crustless Vegetable Quiche

I love this dish for the colours and the pesto!

From: BBC Good Food 101 Veggie Dishes

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 yellow and 1 orange pepper, cut into quarters and seeded
• 2 courgettes/zucchini, cut into chunks
• 1 large red onion, cut into wedges
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 100 ml/ 3 1/2 fl oz milk
• 2 TBSP green pesto (or more!)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Heat the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6/fan oven 180C/392F
2) Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
3) Add the peppers, courgettes/zucchini, and onion over a high heat.







4) Stir for 2-3 minutes until lightly charred.
5) Grease or oil a 2 liter/3 1/2 pint ovenproof dish







6) Transfer the vegetables to the dish.








 7) In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, pesto and seasoning.







8) Pour over the vegetables, trying to get some of the egg mixture over all of the vegetables even though it will slide to the bottom.
9) Bake for 25 minutes or until firm to the touch in the center.

As you can see from the pictures below, for the size of dish that I used (no measurement on it, but I knew everything would fit) the vegetables should have been chopped up more.

Pea and Ricotta Pesto

 From: Veggie Feasts

Ingredients:

• 4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 500 g (16 oz) fresh or frozen shelled peas
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 100 g (4 oz) ricotta cheese
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp mint (I used parsley because Tesco was out of mint)
• 30 g (1 oz) Parmesan cheese
• salt and black pepper

Directions:

1) Cook the peas in a saucepan of lightly salted boiling water for 3 minutes.








2) Drain and immediately refresh under cold water.









3) Put the peas into a food processor with the oil, garlic, ricotta, lemon juice, mint (or parsley), Parmesan and salt and pepper and process until fairly smooth. I don't have a food processor so I used a potato masher.
4) Serve with crostini or a baguette.

Tomato and Feta Tart

From: Veggie Feasts
My favo(u)rite thing that I've made in a long time, and potentially so far for this blog.

Ingredients:

• 350 g (11 1/2 oz) puff pastry, defrosted if frozen
• plain flour, for dusting
• 3 TBSP Pesto
• 250 g (8 oz) baby plum tomatoes, halved
• 100 g (3 1/2 oz) feta cheese, crumbled
• 4 TBSP freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• handful of basil leaves
• salt and black pepper

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7
2) Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured work surface to form a rectangle 25 x 35 cm (10 x 14 inches).







3) Using a sharp knife, score a 2.5cm (1 inch) border around the edges.








4) Transfer to a baking sheet.









5) Spread the pesto over the pastry.








6) Arrange the tomatoes, feta, and Parmesan over the tart.
7) Season with salt and pepper.








8) Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden.
9) Remove and add the basil leaves.

Pesto Scrambled Eggs

From: Veggie Feasts

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 100 ml (3 1/2 fl oz) single cream
• 25 g (1 oz) butter
• 4 slices of granery bread, toasted (I just used wheat bread)
• 4 TBSP pesto
• salt and black pepper

Directions:

1) Beat the eggs, cream and a little salt and pepper together.
2) Melt the butter in a pan.








3) Add the egg mixture and stir until cooked to your liking.








4) Put a slice of toast on the plate and top with the eggs.








5) Make a hole for the pesto and add.