Last night's dinner
My cilantro plants were sky-high, so I was curious to try this cilantro pesto recipe stashed away in my recipe files. I made it last night, and Karsten said he felt like he was eating at a fancy restaurant in Monaco. Not sure about that, but it is pretty tasty.


Fusilli With Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients

2 pints cherry tomatoes
4 bunches fresh cilantro leaves -- loosely packed
1 pound pine nuts -- toasted (1/2 pound per usage)
½ cup lime juice -- (1/4 cup per usage)
⅓ cup olive oil
freshly grated lime zest
salt and pepper -- to taste
2 pounds fusilli

Instructions

Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and place cut side up on an oiled baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and roast in a 350˚ oven for about 45 minutes or until they start to brown. Check them every 15 minutes or so to make sure they are not sticking to the pan (shake pan to eliminate sticking).

In a blender, purée the cilantro, half of the toasted pine nuts, and half of the lime juice. Taking the top of the blender, slowly drizzle in the olive oil while the machine is running until desired consistency is reached. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a pot of boiling salted water, cook fusilli until tender.

Drain pasta and toss with pesto, remaining pine nuts and lime, lime zest, roasted tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation notes:
I substituted grape tomatoes for cherry tomatoes, and gnocchi for fusilli and was excellent. Served dusted with chili powder and parmesan cheese.


Printed from A Cook's Books -- Recipe management for Macintosh