Pesto Fusion

I bought 3 big bunches of herbs from the farmers’ market – basil, parsley, and cilantro. Here’s a tip for storing herbs: clean the stray leaves and/or dirt from the stems, trimming if needed, and set the bunch in a glass or tall plastic tub (like from yogurt, those ones are taking over my house), with an inch or so of water, and a plastic bag loosely tied over the leaves. Parsley and cilantro will keep this way fairly well for several weeks. Basil on the other hand, you must use within several days. Only one thing to do: make pesto.

This time I made two batches – one classic Italian style with olive oil and pine nuts, with basil and parsley, and one Asian-inspired with basil and cilantro, peanuts, sesame oil, and lime juice.

Stored in small portions in the freezer (again the yogurt tubs, this time the single-serving size), all you have to do is boil some noodles, cook some veggies and/or meat, and toss with the pesto (thawed, of course.) An easy noodle bowl for dinner.

Cilantro Pesto (makes 1 cup pesto)

1 cup torn basil leaves
1 cup cilantro leaves
1 lime, zested and juiced
1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
1 T toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup canola or regular sesame oil
1/2 t red pepper flakes

Place all the ingredients in the blender and process until fairly smooth. Divide into portions in small airtight containers and store in the freezer.