Parsley Pesto

Too dry, too "one note" of flavor so...added more oil, more cheese and one clove of garlic (via a garlic press) and THEN it was fabulous! Put it on a crunchy bit of toast, yum. Tomorrow pasta!

We had not tried making pesto with parsley before. I usually use basil and pine nuts (duh), but recently tried cilantro & pistachio--that's really good, and nowheres near as cilantroish as I feared. This recipe was dry and the flavors just didn't really do anything for me (or my wife & step daughter). Not bad, just one I wouldn't bother with again.

I love pesto, so it is great to have one that's so low in fat and calories. I used half parsley, half cilantro, and added about 1 tsp. of dried basil (too early in the year for fresh) reconstituted in a TB of water. Also added a squirt of fresh lemon juice.

I had an abundance of flat leaf parsley from my CSA. I made this pesto to eat with gnocchi. FABULOUS! I saw another recipe online that called for 3 c. parsley and 1 1/2 c. olive oil! This is so much better, not oily and very fresh tasting! I think toasting the pine nuts is important. This pesto smells awesome and was a great way to use up a large amount of parsley. It freezes well. I'm going to try adding a little half and half to it for a creamy version.

This pesto was very good. I purchased locally grown organic parsley. Perfect with the Seared Chicken Breasts from the same magazine issue. Served with Tuscan Panzanella. I will certainly make this again and I would serve the pesto to guests.