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Any Port in a Storm :: Dockside Dining :: On the Menu :: Pesto
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AuthorTopic: Pesto (Read 892 times)
bazfaz
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Pesto
« Thread Started on Mar 16, 2009, 9:23pm »		[Quote]
We grow basil so I make pesto. When the basil looks as if it is getting out of hand I make pesto for the freezer. So we are now enjoying our pesto and had some tonight with pasta. I also make a nice starter, baking eggs with pesto (Mockchoc has this for breakfast).

Any other ideas for using pesto?
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kerouac2
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #1 on Mar 16, 2009, 9:27pm »		[Quote]
I never seem to find any ideas for using pesto. I abstractly like the idea that it exists, but I am incapable of using it. I want sauce rather than paste.
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casimira
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #2 on Mar 16, 2009, 9:30pm »		[Quote]
I have with good results basted baked fish with pesto,brush some on initially,not slatthered,bake a bit more,baste again. Try!
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kerouac2
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #3 on Mar 16, 2009, 9:37pm »		[Quote]
Oh, I can imagine using it on fish. Much more than pasta. Good idea, thanks.
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bixaorellana
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #4 on Mar 16, 2009, 10:20pm »		[Quote]
This may go against everything you've ever learned, but don't drain the pasta completely when you're going to put on pesto. With a nice garlicky pesto, you get what I consider a divine soupiness.

I made pesto once and gave it to my grandmother. She politely tried a little on pasta, but much preferred to use it as an addition to sauteed onions or garlic. She'd saute either or both of those, add some pesto, then proceed with whatever else was to be added.
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gringalais
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #5 on Mar 17, 2009, 2:18am »		[Quote]
I do the same sometimes when my basil is starting to go to seed. It is good on chicken, brush it on, let it sit a bit and bake. Also, I mix with tomato sauce to make pizza, or just use the pesto instead of pizza sauce.
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mockchoc
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #6 on Mar 17, 2009, 6:36am »		[Quote]
Baz, it was just pesto on the bottom of the ramekin, an egg cracked on top, drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt then into the microwave right? Think I have it right. It was very good I must say but should make it again very soon.

I'm about to make more pesto after the return from my holiday anyhow so I'll save some for that.

Now and then if making pesto for pasta I'll add some cream to make it into more of a sauce. Why not? Taste great.
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happytraveller
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #7 on Mar 17, 2009, 6:49am »		[Quote]
Put Pesto on fish fillet, add lime juice and a little bit of white wine, bake it in oven.
It makes a very easy and yummy meal!
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #8 on Mar 18, 2009, 6:26am »		[Quote]
It's pretty versatile, to be fair. Make a slit in a chicken fillet and stuff this with pesto and then either fry or bake with oil and butter. Serve with buttom mushrooms gently fried in butter and herbs, and trimmed green beans.
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casimira
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #9 on Mar 18, 2009, 10:38am »		[Quote]
Forgot this one, instead of using the traditional passata ,use pesto to sauce gnocchi.
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gyro
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #10 on Mar 18, 2009, 10:41am »		[Quote]
I made pesto the other week with peanuts instead of pine kernels, and wilted spinach instead of basil. It was very nice.
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Don Cuevas
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #11 on Mar 18, 2009, 12:52pm »		[Quote]
I tossed the small remnants (2 tbsps) of pesto into a skillet of parboiled but still crunchy green beans, along with a little onion and diced tomato. It was quite good.
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #12 on Mar 18, 2009, 2:43pm »		[Quote]
I've heard of substituting walnuts for pine nuts but never peanuts,have to ponder that one. Have also heard of using arugula (rocket) in lieu of basil. I think I'll remain a purist on this and stick with basil.
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bixaorellana
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #13 on Mar 18, 2009, 3:03pm »		[Quote]
Interesting. I routinely substitute sesame seeds for the pine nut content, or leave that part out entirely. I never heard of pesto made of anything but basil, but thinking about it, other leaves make perfect sense. The only thing that makes it "pesto" (from Italian pestare, to pound) is the crushing of the ingredients, right?

What intrigues me about Gyro's version is the use of the peanuts and spinach together. That combo makes me think of Asian food and the idea of Italianizing it is most interesting. Why not a pesto of peanuts, dark leafy green, hot chile, and some drops of sesame oil?
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kerouac2
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #14 on Mar 18, 2009, 8:27pm »		[Quote]
Spinach would be tasteless in pesto, no?
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Don Cuevas
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #15 on Mar 18, 2009, 8:28pm »		[Quote]
I made cilantro pesto, using green pumpkin seeds. Later, a chef I worked for insisted that the only true pesto was made with pine nuts and basil. The other stuff might be tasty pastes,but they are not pesto. He said.

I've also used walnuts. So much cheaper.
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #16 on Mar 18, 2009, 9:57pm »		[Quote]
I have tried pesto made with cilantro, it was pretty good. I also use walnuts. I have only seen pine nuts here a few times and they were outrageously expensive.
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #17 on Mar 18, 2009, 10:17pm »		[Quote]
Pesto with yoghurt for a gd salad dressing. Pesto with Gnocchi is a definite knocker.
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #18 on Mar 19, 2009, 5:33am »		[Quote]
"The other stuff might be tasty pastes,but they are not pesto. He said."

Chefs are like that.
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bazfaz
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #19 on Mar 19, 2009, 7:55am »		[Quote]
Well, I agree with that chef. The point of giving names to dishes is so that you know what you are getting. Once you wander off and do new things it needs a new name.

I am reminded of a post on Ye Olde Thorne Tree from someone who wanted to have a recipe for boeuf bourguignon that didn't use wine. Er, beef stew doesn't have to have wine. Boeuf bourguignon does.
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gyro
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #20 on Mar 19, 2009, 8:53am »		[Quote]
Yeah, but loads of restaurants use 'classic' recipes and change the ingredients to give it a twist, but still retain the name. Calling it spinach & peanut pesto is not necessarily one I've seen, but you catch my drift, and it happens many many times ....
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Don Cuevas
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #21 on Mar 19, 2009, 3:58pm »		[Quote]
There have been, for example, misuses of the term, "napoleon", to describe a savory dish of thinly sliced, layered vegetables with some filling between. Nice, maybe, but it's not a napoleon in the classic sense; baked pâte feuilletée layers filled with crème pâtissière.
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bixaorellana
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #22 on Mar 19, 2009, 4:07pm »		[Quote]
I agree with Gyro. Just because the basil pesto is the well-known pesto doesn't mean it's the only one. This is reminding me of a friend who back in the 70s went to a pasta restaurant and was horrified that his order came with a cream sauce. His comment: "I thought spaghetti was always supposed to be red!"

Here is what the Encarta World English Dictionary as to say about pesto:

pes·to [ péstō ]
noun
Definition:

1. basil sauce: a sauce or paste made by crushing together basil leaves, pine nuts, oil, Parmesan cheese, and garlic. It is traditionally served hot or cold with pasta or on meat.

2. flavorful paste: a puréed or finely minced paste of herbs and vegetables, tomatoes, or olives, used as pasta sauce, bread spread, or in cooking

[Mid-20th century. < Italian< past participle of pestare "pound, crush" < late Latin pistare< Latin pinsere "to beat"]
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bazfaz
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #23 on Mar 19, 2009, 4:10pm »		[Quote]
I make a sauce with walnuts, parsley, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice. It is not a walnut pesto; it is an aillade.
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #24 on Mar 19, 2009, 4:15pm »		[Quote]
From the definition, I'd say that what makes a pounded sauce "pesto" is the proportion of green matter. Since aillade is more walnut than parsley, it's not a pesto.
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gyro
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #25 on Mar 19, 2009, 7:00pm »		[Quote]
I don't disagree that there is realistically only really one CORRECT definition of pesto, for example, but to get prissy about variations is stupid. Alledgedly, a 'proper' pizza should only have 4 slices of cheese on it (or something like that), but if it has more or less it'd be stupid to say it can't be called a pizza ...
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bazfaz
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #26 on Mar 19, 2009, 9:26pm »		[Quote]
Jeez, pizza has a zillion variations but it is still pizza.
Pesto is made with basil. If it is not, it is some other sauce.
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #27 on Mar 19, 2009, 9:38pm »		[Quote]
You can't disagree with the dictionary, Baz. I stand by what I say in #24 above. Admittedly, if someone tells me they're having pesto-baked chicken for dinner, my mental image will be of a basil product. But if they follow up that statement by saying it will be a parsley/pecan pesto, my only reaction will be to admire the alliteration.
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bazfaz
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #28 on Mar 19, 2009, 9:55pm »		[Quote]
I most certainly can disagree with the dictionary.
Dictionaries simply follow the way people use a word. Over time meanings change. But - I am protesting loudly against this change. If enough people see the error of their ways then the makers of that dictionary will wirhdraw that stupid secondary definition.
Pesto is made with basil. Other ways of making it are fawlty.
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gyro
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Re: Pesto
« Reply #29 on Mar 20, 2009, 5:14am »		[Quote]
Oh dear.
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