Make pesto out of it
By now you've seen the hipster-mocking Portlandia short, "Put a Bird On It," in which the merits of adding meaningless bird stencils to home décor objects is praised at the expense of appreciating actual birds.
At some level, this is the status of pesto. It doesn't matter that you can make a passable pesto with a food processor as opposed to grinding it by hand with a mortar and pestle. No, classic basil pesto has been deemed too difficult or at the very least, unhip. So, now there are pesto recipes featuring just about any vegetable or herb or combination thereof.
Sometimes they work well. Certainly a food processor can turn a mountain of spinach or Swiss chard into a tidy, compact paste in nothing flat. And while I cringe at the notion of foods being labeled trendy, as they will eventually be labeled passé and possibly become unavailable, I like the idea of being able to use up something that might otherwise go to waste.
For years, my sister couldn't handle the pungency of traditional basil pesto and cut hers with spinach leaves. It's hard to go wrong with basil and fresh greens. So before heading out for the weekend, I found myself tossing handfuls of basil, baby kale, spinach, and arugula in pesto one night.
A few weeks ago, a friend offered that her favorite no-fuss dinner was pasta with garlic scape pesto, no cheese or nuts, just olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic scapes. Garlic scapes are the flowering stocks of hard neck garlic that farmers remove lest the plants put their energy into blooming instead of forming bulbs. The scapes have the flavor of garlic without the heat. They have a sweetness like leeks and scallions. You can find them at the Saturday Market at the Square in Urbana, as well as at Common Ground Food Coop. You can use any leftover garlic scape pesto on potato salad or crostini.
Garlic Scape Pesto
- 1 bunch/handful of garlic scapes, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Put the garlic scapes into a food processor and process until chunky. Slowly add the olive oil and continue to process until the mixture becomes smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
However, the pesto that most intrigued me was one with fennel fronds, as I always think I am going to do something with them, but then they just sit in the produce drawer of my fridge and slowly dehydrate. If you don't like anise, don't make this. But if you do....
Fennel Frond Pesto
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 c packed fennel fronds
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 1 T lemon juice or more to taste
- 1/4 t salt or more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place garlic and fennel fronds in food processor. Process. Slowly add olive oil until mixture turns into a paste. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
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Excellent additions, LY.
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Most Recent Comments
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
This makes me so sad. (Happy to live in Urbana, though!) Crave Truck has been a GREAT addition to the food choices in C-U, and it’d be a travesty to chase them away. This town should be supporting small businesses. I’m glad to hear that they’ll still…
*slow. clap.* Still offering no threat of intelligence…. I know I said I thought you should just write this whole column yourself next year, Isaac, but now that you’ve gone and taken a “part deux” run at it, I’d like to modify my request: Best Music 2013,…
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What? Echo! (Echo!) Where’s the dischord and dissent?
This weekend will mark the first appearance of Kayla Brown’s Fire Doll Candle booth at the Market. Check it: http://www.facebook.com/firedollcandles
And without bloodshed. Sounds like the Savoy trustees aren’t as narrow-minded as some of their whiny pants constituents. Do you think quack Snell is already planning an asinine counterattack or is he still laying low after those “threats” against his person?
hey, if hair ain’t gon’ be over your head, my jokes may as well be.
Okay, almost 24 hours later and I finally got Issac’s Summer joke. I’m an idiot.
Excellent. I am glad sometimes American dreams are encouraged, rather than stifled.
Swap the dog for a fire pit and it sounds like you’re writing about my back yard. Very nice.
funny, as your summer begins, another Summer ends.
@Dan - Wow. Unfortunately, I have to refrain from further comment due to a previous employment relationship. But with that brief context you might be able to imagine possible comments or responses I could have.
Oh, by the way, the “Champaign County YMCA” no longer exists. The official name is now the “Stephens Family YMCA” (the website has not been updated, but check out the latest program guide). And no, it’s not just the name of the building. It’s the name of the organization.
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Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…