Pesto Alla Genovese

Pesto alla Genovese

2 cups fresh basil leaves, stripped from their stems, coarsely chopped and tightly packed. 

1 t. salt

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

1-2 t. finely chopped garlic

2 T. finely chopped pine nuts (or walnuts)

1 to 1 1/2 cups olive oil

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a blender or food processer, combine basil, salt, pepper, garlic, nuts and 1 cup of olive oil.  Blend at high speed until the ingredients are smooth, stopping every 5 or 6 second to push herbs down with a rubber spatula.

The sauce should be thin enough to run off the spatula easily.  If too thick, blend in as much as ½ cup more olive oil.

Transfer the sauce to a bowl and stir in the grated cheese.

Poach chicken breasts, cool and cut into bit size pieces.  Add a few spoons of pesto and mix well.  Serve on lettuce or as part of an antipasto. 

You can also mix the chicken and pesto with cooled pasta and fresh tomatoes for a delicious main course.  Serve with French bread.

Bon Appetit Scores a hit with Pappardelle, Pancetta, Brocccoli Rabe and Pine Nuts

We tried this dish  last night and agreed that it was even "company worthy."  So tasty.  In a weird twist, the pasta (imported Italian pappardella ($3.99) cost most than the meat ($ 2.00 worth of pancetta).  There's something about this combination of flavors that really hit a home run.  On the web site, some cooks advised cooking a fennel bulb (or half) with the onion, and I think that would make it even yummier.  Always look for ways to incorporate more veggies into your food.
Serve with a salad.  The price of lettuce has gone down a bit.  You can also make carrot salads and cabbage salads.  Or serve a half grapefruit instead.  Cucumbers with a bit of yogurt or sour cream and some dill make a wonderful salad.  Grapefruit and avocado?  Yowza!   My grandma made a salad (Waldorf) with apples, celery, walnuts and some mayo.  Think outside the "leaf."   


Dynamite Recipe  


To save gas, we're working extra hard to combine trips.  Just think and plan ahead, sometimes difficult until it becomes habit.