Delicious Dishes with Pesto (Part II)
Posted by Susan Russo on make and freeze some pesto. Now, for the second part of this series, here are some simple and delicious ways to incorporate pesto into your meals. It enlivens just about everything from soup to pizza to pasta (though I’d steer clear from desserts).
Here are 10 tasty ways to enjoy pesto:
1. Make Individual Pesto Lasagnas for a dinner party, and earn your guests’ undying gratitude. Seriously. Made with creamy ricotta cheese, earthy eggplant, and rich sun-dried tomatoes, this isn’t your ordinary lasagna.
2. Cook some pasta, add a little pesto and some grilled chicken or shrimp, and you’ve got a healthy high protein meal.
3. Make simple scrambled eggs more exciting by adding a teaspoon of pesto and serving them with toasted Italian bread.4. Enliven a frittata or quiche with pesto. It’s ideal with potatoes and onions or spinach and red bell peppers.
5. Turn hum-drum mashed potatoes or oven roasted potatoes into something special by adding some pesto and fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
6. Make a vegetable panini more memorable by adding pesto and melted mozzarella, goat cheese, or sharp provolone.
7. Mix pesto with some light mayo for a delicious spread on sandwiches or wraps.
8. Add pesto to pizzas with toppings such as sun-dried tomatoes and olives.
9. Make a bolder crostini by adding pesto and prosciutto or pesto and roasted eggplant.
10. Spice up some soup with pesto.
Try this healthy, hearty vegetable pesto soup which is wonderful any time of the year. Feel free to substitute different vegetables or to use canned or frozen varieties if fresh is unavailable.
Vegetable Pesto Soup
Makes 4 servings.
1 tsp olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 cup red potato, diced
1 bay leaf
3 ½ cups water
½ cup celery, sliced
½ cup carrots, diced
1 cup green beans, sliced on the diagonal
½ cup red bell pepper, diced
1 ½ cups zucchini, diced
1 cup corn, cut from the cob
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup fresh pesto (see Part I) or 2-3 frozen pesto cubes (according to your taste)
Salt and pepper, to taste
) or (according to your taste)Salt and pepper, to tasteIn a medium sized quart pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add shallot and cook 2-3 minutes, until slightly browned. Add the potato and cook another minute. Add bay leaf and 3 ½ cups water. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the potatoes are slightly softened but not coked through. Add celery, carrots, green beans, and red bell pepper; cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add the zucchini and corn; cook another 2-4 minutes, until potatoes are cooked through and the rest of the vegetables are still slightly firm. Be sure to REMOVE the bay leaf at this point! Add cherry tomatoes and pesto; stir well to combine for about 1 minute and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Garnish with shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired.
