Golden Gate Garden

I gave a talk at the SF Flower and Garden Show today, about cooking from a garden. I mentioned this recipe, but couldn't fit it onto the handout. It is one of the many recipes that I prepare using the flat-leaf parsley that self-sows in my garden.

Parsley and Sundried Tomato Pesto      Adapted from Beyond the Moon Cookbook, by Ginny Callan

5 large cloves of garlic, peeled                                   ¾ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried                                (3 oz.) or Romano

    tomatoes (or use soaked dry ones)                       Black pepper (to taste)

½ cup pecans                                                         ½ cup finely chopped parsley

½ cup Greek olives                                                  Linguine or other pasta for 4

½ cup olive oil                                                               

If serving with pasta, put a large pot of water on to boil.

(If using dry sun-dried tomatoes, boil a little water, pour it over them, let sit 15 minutes, drain—save

the soaking liquid to use later in this recipe or as the liquid in another recipe.)

In a blender or a food processor, puree the garlic, tomatoes, pecans, olives, olive oil, grated cheese, and pepper.

Boil the pasta. When the pasta is done, stir a little boiling water into the pesto. You can use a little of the pasta water, or you can reboil the water in which you soaked the tomatoes and use some of that. You will need on the order of ½ cup, but stir in a little at a time to avoid overdoing it.

Serve the pesto to put over the pasta.

Alternatively, you can use the pesto as a spread on bread or crackers. You can omit the added boiling water if you use it as a spread, or add the boiling water, serve pesto with pasta, then refrigerate leftover pesto and serve it as a spread.