Sunday, June 5, 2011

Mint Pesto

One of my favorite parts of summer is all the fresh produce, especially fresh herbs.


Matt bought a huge bunch of mint this week.  Of course, my first reaction was Mojitos! but in an attempt to find some more, um, productive uses of mint, we were inspired by Mark Bittman to try mint pesto.

It's a pretty straightforward recipe:

2 loosely packed cups of fresh mint
Salt to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons walnuts

Put it all in a food processor, and presto, you have pesto! (Sorry, I couldn't help it).


I served it over whole wheat spaghetti, but it is good over any kind of pasta, or grilled veggies.


Pesto can really be made with any fresh herb or green.  It's traditionally made with basil, but you can use mint or dill.  I've even had it with spinach and arugula.  If you have access to them, pine nuts can be swapped for the walnuts.  Most recipes include a clove of garlic.  I didn't use it here because the mint is pretty sweet, and I thought it would taste funny, but with a more savory herb, I would definitely recommend it!

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