Pistachio Pesto

Traditional pesto combines copious amounts of basil with garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, and Parmesan or similar hard cheese.  We’ve long been fans of pesto, although we’ll usually eliminate the cheese and add a squeeze of lemon.  This recipe takes the basic pesto and transforms it even further – substituting pistachios for the pine nuts and adding some Italian parsley to the mix.

Gather Up:

• 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 2~3 tbsp Italian parsley (also known as flat leaf parsley)
• 3 tbsp unsalted pistachios, shelled
• juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 tbsp)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Combine everything except the olive oil in a small food processor (we’ve got one that came as an attachment to our stick blender).  Process until everything is minced up pretty good, scraping the sides as needed.

Add in the olive oil, a little at a time, until you reach the consistency of a thick, chunky paste.  Transfer to a small serving bowl (this yields about 1/2 cup).  Use as a spread over grilled chicken, or a dip for veggies (jicama would be good), or just eat it with a spoon (we did)!