Pea Shoot Pesto

Last Wednesday marked our first CSA pickup, from the Garden of Eve farms. My roommate and I are doing a bi-weekly vegetable pick up, which seems to work out perfectly for our little budgets and big stomachs.

There are so many wonderful things about being part of a CSA, the least of which is getting the opportunity to try new produce that one would never pick out at the supermarket. For example, garlic scapes. I've seen them all over the place and always observed them at the farmers market, but never once had the guts to get a bunch. Another example, pea shoots. These are just a couple examples of veggies that veer slightly off of a common grocery list.

Pea shoots tend to wilt fairly quickly, mine seemed to keep five days in a ziploc bag in our produce compartment fairly well. The basil, on the other hand, didn't fare so well. RIP sweet basil.

I decided that these fresh delicate pea shoots should be eaten raw, as sautee'ing them (as traditionally done in Chinese cuisine) seemed to be such a waste of something so fresh. After doing a quick google search for ways to use pesto, maybe in salads, I came across a bounty of pesto recipes for pea shoots. Brilliant! Though pesto is traditionally a combination of basil, pinenuts, parmesean, olive oil and garlic, chefs and home cooks have modified the recipe to include walnuts, mint, cilantro...the list goes on.

The pesto, because pea shoots are far softer in flavor than basil, turned out to be a sweet, nutty, and fresh sauce. It's not an oily liquidy pesto like the ones you may buy at the store, but rather a thick, chunky, smooth paste. I don't eat a lot of pasta at home, so I am inclined to use this "sauce" on sandwiches, chicken, tofu, with pretzels, on salmon, and as a salad dressing (with an extra squirt of lemon, of course). I can't wait!!!!

PEA SHOOT PESTO

prep time: approx. 15 - 20 min

2 handfuls pea shoots (about 1 lb??)

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 cup olive oil

1 cup pinenuts

5 cloves roasted garlic

1 lemon

salt and pepper, to taste

Wash and prep the pea shoots by snapping off all the thick stems. Spin in a salad spinner to dry completely

Pea shoots and roasted garlic, delightful!!!

Combine 1/2 of all ingredients in a food processor or blender, begin to blend on a lower speed. You may need to stop the blender every so often to mix around the ingredients. Once the pesto starts to farm, start adding in the remainder of the ingredients while the blender is still running. Add more (or less) olive oil to determine a consistency that you like. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

giving the pesto a final whirl in our blender.

Blend on high speed until thoroughly pureed. You can also leave your pesto chunkier, if you wish.

Store in an airtight jar or container. Should keep for about a week or slightly more.

**To roast garlic, cut off the top of a garlic bulb and place on a sheet of foil. drizzle a tiny amount of olive oil and wrap foil to cover the entire bulb. Roast in a 400degree oven for up to an hour, or until soft. This is also great on toast, in pastas, or just about anything, really.