Source
r/Cooking•
formfeed

Pesto ideas?

I could use some ideas for things to do with pesto... basil season is quickly approaching, and yet I've got a bunch of pesto still in the freezer that I haven't done a great job of eating yet. And I want to. It's delicious.

I already use it as a spread, mix it with mayo as a spread, eat it with salmon and chicken, toss it with pasta and sautéed veggies, make chilled pasta salads, and eat with just plain bread.

Anything else? I'm sure that there must be some cool things that I haven't thought of.

Posted Mar 26, 2010, 11:03 PM UTC

320
DLabz•

Gnocchi

4
[deleted]•

Sautee some chicken, make a simple alfredo sauce, mix the pesto in with that, and toss it all with pasta. Delicious!

3
formfeedOP•

Pesto alfredo sounds really interesting.

2
[deleted]•

It's really tasty, but be forewarned, it is NOT a healthy meal choice! It's also really heavy so I can't recommend making it to impress a girl if you're planning on getting your bone on within the next 4-8 hours.

3
FeK92000•

Mix it with some finely chopped arugula, ground pistachios, and minced shallots. Then mix that into 4 parts chevre goat cheese. Now proceed to dip every available type of chip into that. You'll find your spirit chip sooner or later.

Mine was the bagel chip.

3
formfeedOP•

Hard to imagine anything better than combining pesto and goat cheese. Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely try this one.

1
BatmanBinSuparman•

Whisk it into eggs before you scramble them, use as a pizza sauce, drizzle on soups.

3
[deleted]•

Dip your pizza in it.

2
formfeedOP•

Ooh, yeah. Pesto pizza (no tomato) is solid, too.

2
metajellyfish•

I just went through an entire jar with water crackers. Although I consider the crackers to be an accessory.

2
Dried_Apple•

I'm a big fan of focaccia with it on it. Mix it with a cheese of sorts and drained marinated artichoke hearts (chopped up) and have it as a dip. Use it to make bruschetta, couscous, risotto, veggie dip, ravioli, lasange, or stuffed tomatoes.

2
formfeedOP•

Bruschetta, right. That's a solid idea.

Couscous and risotto I definitely would not have thought of - I'll have to try that. I'm considering a pesto lasagna, but I'm worried that it would just become a big oily mess once the pesto goes in the oven. I'll poke around for recipe suggestions for that one.

Thanks for the tips!

1
Dried_Apple•

I would try it but I'd made the pesto drier than normal.

1
freshpickles•

get some nice medium soft cheese (something that holds up by itself but will melt and spread nicely once heated) and cover it in pesto and then put a pastry around it (I'm lazy and usually use Pillsbury dough) and bake it in the oven until the pastry is cooked. Spread on your favourite crackers

2
dishie•

I made gnocchi with shrimp, asparagus and pesto for my boyfriend about a week ago, and he loved it. His words: "This is awesome." It came together in about 15 minutes, and there are only 4 ingredients. Plus, since asparagus is in season, it's pretty affordable!

2
formfeedOP•

Wow, that looks really interesting. Novel combination of ingredients. I've never had pesto & shrimp or asparagus & shrimp in the same dish. I may give this one a try, too...

1
dishie•

Everything about it was ballin'. The only downside was that the gnocchi didn't reheat well (it lost its chewiness and dried out a bit). The asparagus and shrimp, however, were still really good the second time around.

2
[deleted]•

Italian style quesadillas - pesto instead of salsa, mozzarella instead of cheddar. Pesto lasagna with pesto instead of marinara. Pesto pizza. Mixed with olive oil and white balsamic and use as a leafy greens salad dressing. Carrot dip. Bake in packets of foil with raw fish or chicken soaking it in. Croutons. Dip focaccia into it. Smear onto Pillsbury crescent roll dough before rolling into crescents and top with garlic salt and parmesan. Incorporate into a gazpacho using other veggies and the pesto as the primary source of flavor. Stuff and bake mushrooms with a mixture of ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella and pesto. Brush shrooms with olive oil and roast. Mix pesto into burger meat before folding patties...or meatballs?!!?!? Pesto is too amazing.

2
formfeedOP•

Wow. You're like a pesto god.

I'm a serious fan of white basalmic, I'll definitely try it as a dressing. Also, stuffed mushrooms: mmmmmmm, fantastic idea.

1
Anomander•

Mail it to me.

1