Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Cilantro Parsley Pesto


I love fresh Cilantro. Remember my Garlic fetish? It's worse with Cilantro. I would wear Cilantro as a scent. I think I ooh and awe over the smell of cilantro more than the smell of chocolate!

I also love Pesto. It's such a wonderful, variable food. So, why not do a Cilantro Pesto?

I took it one step further, when I saw this recipe from OurBestBites. They did a Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri. The pesto in this recipe is so amazing that I literally crave it.

The recipe for the Pork tenderloin can be found on their site.

Here, I want to share the recipe for the Cilantro Parsley Pesto.

Big bunch of Parsley
Big bunch of Cilantro
Oregano*
2 T Fresh lime juice
1 T red wine vinegar
3 T chopped Garlic
1 T salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/4- 1/2 C Olive Oil
Pine Nuts or Almonds sprinkled in

*Fresh Oregano is best. Use 1/2c. Otherwise, you may use 1TB dried Oregano

Now, ready for the hard part? :)

Chop Cilantro and Parsley. It is OKAY to include the stems!
Place the herbs in a food processor, with the rest of the ingredients, EXCEPT for the oil and red pepper.
Pulse several times, and place mixture in a bowl. Stir in red pepper flakes and Oil by hand. You can use less or more Oil, depending on what consistency you would like!

Chill for at least 1 hour to allow tastes to meld.



Now, what to do with this delightful concoction?

You can follow the link above and use it as a marinade on Pork.
You can spread it over chicken.
You can eat is as a dip with French bread.
You can mix it with Ranch Dressing and use on a salad.
Mix in soups, pasta sauces, or on pizza for added zest!
This freezes well! Make tons and freeze for later!

Stock up on fresh cilantro and parsley! You will want to make this over and over again!

3 comments:

  1. Delish flavors here! I will try this for sure!!

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  2. Just visiting from SITS... had to come and see what recipe you were going to temp me with - looks great!

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  3. OOOOOO drool!! I love Cilantro..It is heaven.. that and Lemon Sage!! OMG!! I went to the local garden and the gardener let me rub some of the leaves- girrrrrrrllll i wanted to take some home and make popurri! yes I know i'm spelling it wrong, but you know what I mean. have you tried making something with that herb? I'd love to read about it.

    Great post!

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