PESTO IN POETRY
by Robin Benzle
I love you more than chocolate,
I love you more than cake,
But when it comes to pesto,
I have to hesitate.
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
I used to have a friend named Flo
Who lived just down the block,
But when she said that pesto stunk
I dropped her like a rock.
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
For a guesto,
Pesto
Is the besto.
No contesto.
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
I met a man named Doofus
With no job, no teeth, no hair;
But he whipped up a mean batch of pesto,
So I married him then and there.
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
I think it’s utterly sacrilege
That pesto’s not served as a beverage.
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
My husband grew sick of my pesto obsession,
He divorced me, but funny, I felt no depression.
He got the house and a floozy named Hazel,
But I got to keep all the garlic and basil.
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
ROBIN’S PESTO PRESTO FOR PASTA
Makes enough to sauce one pound of pasta
2 cups gently packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (approximately)
1 lb. cooked pasta (I like penne pasta)
Tomato wedges for garnish
In a food processor using steel blade (or a blender), process basil until finely chopped. Add pine nuts, cheese, garlic and salt and process until like a thick paste with tiny lumps. With food processor running, slowly pour in enough olive oil until mixture is just thin enough to easily coat pasta. Toss with hot cooked pasta, cold cooked pasta - or serve at room temperature (my favorite). Garnish each plate with tomato wedges. Freezes well, so double the recipe if you want fresh, summery pesto in the dead of winter.
ALMOND PEACH PESTO FOR CHICKEN
Makes enough for 8 - 10 chicken pieces
1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
2/3 cup almond slivers
3/4 cup coarsely chopped, skinned peaches
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Grilled, broiled or baked chicken pieces
In a food processor using steel blade (or in a blender), process basil and mint until finely chopped. Add cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg and process until smooth. Spoon on top of cooked chicken. Also goes nicely with pork chops.
ITALIAN PESTO BREAD
with sun-dried tomatoes
Enough for one loaf Italian bread
2 cups gently packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (see *)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 loaf fresh Italian bread, unsliced
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a food processor using steel blade (or a blender), process basil until finely chopped. Add pine nuts, walnuts, cheese, garlic, dried tomatoes and salt. Process until a thick paste. With processor running, drizzle in olive oil. Blend well.
Cut bread in half, lengthwise and place on baking sheet. Spread pesto evenly on cut sides. Bake 10 minutes until bread is heated through and pesto is bubbling. Turn oven to broil and cook 1 - 3 minutes, or until lightly brown. Serve alongside dinner, or cut into strips for an appetizer.