enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

Pesto

For our wedding, we got a Cuisinart food processor and we were ecstatic because it meant we could finally make pesto. I think we made it every five days the first month we were in San Diego. 

Here's our recipe based on this :

  • 1 bundle of asparagus grilled or sauteed on medium heat and cut into thirds
  • big handful of clean, fresh basil leaves
  • 2 tablespoons of almonds (we started using these because we didn't have pinenuts and love the taste)
  • 2 fresh garlic cloves minced
  • about 1/2 C of olive oil (sometimes more to get the right texture)
  • about 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (we use the store bought shredded kind)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Pulse the cooked asparagus, basil leaves, garlic, almonds, cheese and about 1/4 cup of oil.

Scrape down the sides of the food processor and add a bit of salt and pepper.

With the machine running on low, pour in about another 1/4 cup of olive oil. We go for about the consistency of hummus, but a little thinner.

Taste test. Does it need more salt? More olive oil? Continue processing and tasting until you're pleased!

This recipe makes enough for the two of us. Because cleaning the food processor is such a hassle, we try to make a few batches and then refrigerate to eat later or use as sauce on a pesto pizza.

We serve it with whole wheat pasta and grilled chicken.

(At least once a week.)

Napkin in photo is from Anthropolgie. Plate and fork are Crate&Barrel.

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15 responses to “how we do pesto.”

  1. celeste Avatar

    The asparagus is a nice twist on pesto. I am a pesto lover too. I try to make it all summer long so I can freeze it and have fresh pesto in the winter. If you can buy any extra at a farmer’s market (that’s what I do) I make it and then freeze in ice cube trays. It makes the perfect size of pesto and defrosts quickly.

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  2. Monika Wright Avatar

    Never thought of asparagus in Pesto, and we love it! We have white dishes now, but I wish that I had gone classic and simple when we first married twelve years ago….everything looks better on a bright, white plate!

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  3. Mostly Dazed & Often Confused Avatar

    The pesto looks sooooo good….great idea! I have to invest in a food processor.

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  4. Jessica O'Brien Avatar

    ooooooh, i’d like to try this! scott makes a mean from-scratch hummus in our food processor. each time he makes a batch, i say it was worth the purchase!
    xo, jessica
    http://jessicafulkerson.blogspot.com/

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  5. Holly Avatar

    Mmm pesto with asparagus! Sounds (and looks!) delicious.

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  6. alex hardy Avatar

    I recently acquired a vintage Cuisinart that works perfectly.
    Haven ventured into pesto … great idea to substitute pine nuts with almonds! (Not a fan of pine nuts). LOL

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  7. Suzanne Avatar

    nice call on the almonds!

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  8. Brittany G. Avatar
    Brittany G.

    We always add sundried tomatoes to our grilled ck pesto pasta. It’s soooo good! Thought you might like it too so I wanted to share.
    I’ve been reading your blog for about a year and now it is the first one I read every day. Love it – keep up the great blogging 🙂

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  9. Maria Stenlund Avatar

    I was just skimming through your minibook collection and started to think about the upcoming fall (yes, I know it’s still summer, I’m just a little bit ahead of things right now). Are you planning on making some sorts of colorful autumn minibook? With autumn colors such as green, brown and orange maybe? Would be so beautiful. I really liked one of your previous book kit, though I can’t remember what it was called. Perhaps something like “forest”.

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  10. Laura Avatar

    I love the idea of adding asparagus to pesto!

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  11. elise blaha Avatar

    Im hoping to have fall book kits by mid august.

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  12. Brianna Avatar

    I dare say I might actually begin to like pesto now that I know I can make it with asparagus.

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  13. Libbi M. (Ashland, Oregon) Avatar
    Libbi M. (Ashland, Oregon)

    i finally made this recipe. it was super delicious. i added some McCormick’s Grill Mates “Montreal Chicken” to our chicken & then my husband cooked it on our grill. my whole family loved it and want me to make it again. thank you for sharing your recipes.

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  14. Libbi M. (Ashland, Oregon) Avatar
    Libbi M. (Ashland, Oregon)

    i forgot to mention… thank you so much for inspiring me to grow my own garden which consists of lots of tomato plants, bush beans, carrots, kale, basil, a salad mix and a few pumpkins. there’s nothing more fulfilling than eating something you grew yourself.

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