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pesto

Orange Broccoli Pepita Pesto {df, gf, v}

Change up your pesto by using one of the most powerful superfoods available broccoli. The Vitamin C and the sulforaphane in broccoli make it a great antihistamine vegetable to add to your diet.

Blanching the broccoli first helps to break down the enzymes, making it more digestible, and will help it keep a bright green color. I do recommend taking the extra few minutes to do this step.

This Orange Broccoli Pepita Pesto is dairy-free, gluten-free and is fun wherever you would use classic pesto including as a sandwich spread, over roasted veggies, or just as a dip.
Happy Eating,
~Monique

Orange Broccoli Pepita Pesto

1 heaping cup broccoli pieces
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
2-4 tbls extra-virgin olive oil
1 orange, zest and juice (at least 2 tbls juice)
1 large garlic clove, smashed & roughly chopped
1/2 tsp pink or salt

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and place a bowl of ice water nearby. Blanch the broccoli in the boiling water for 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to scoop it into the ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain.

Place the broccoli into a food processor with the basil, pumpkin seeds, orange zest and juice, garlic, salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Pulse until well combined adding additional olive oil as needed to get to desired consistency. Adust salt to taste.

Kale Lime Pesto

2 cups kale (I used curly, but any kale should be fine)
1 smashed garlic clove
1 tbls fresh oregano
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup toasted pepitas
2 tbls fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
good pinch of cayenne pepper

Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, and blend on low or pulse to combine. If the pesto is too thick, add additional olive oil until desired texture is reached. Adjust salt and lime as needed.
I like this to have texture rather than be blended to smoothness- but go with what you like best.

Garlic Scape Pesto (V, Gf, Df)

Garlic scapes are one of the coolest farm/garden scores ever. These delightfully mild garlic ‘flower stems’ pop up from the underground garlic bulb. The bulb actually grows better, meaning it can concentrate its growing power to the underground bulb, once the ‘flower stem’ or ‘scape’ is removed.

The garlic scape has a little bit of a fibrous texture so it’s recommended to either saute them slightly or mince them finely, like in this pesto. Garlic scapes are only here for a short time so grab them while you can!
Happy Eating,
~Monique

Garlic Scape Pesto
5 garlic scapes (about 1/2 cup chopped)
a big handful fresh parsley
2 tbls lemon juice
5 tbls olive oil
3 tbls toasted pepitas
1/2 tsp salt
few grinds of fresh black pepper

Toss everything in a mini food processor or blender, process until desired texture is reached. Taste, adjust seasoning as desired.

Note: I like a thick pesto, add a touch more oil if you prefer yours a little thinner.

Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Orange Ginger Gremolata

Food waste is a huge issue that makes me sad. We throw out so much food because it doesn’t look perfect or because we’ve somehow been lead to believe it isn’t edible. Take cauliflower leaves for instance. When was the last time you actually ate the leaves? …. um, did you know you can eat them?

Of course you can – they are leafy greens after all. Often I save my cauliflower cleanings for broth, like I do with all my veggie odds and ends (toss them in the freezer till you have a bag full, then simmer in water. Boom – veggie broth.) Today I decided to chop up the greens into a refreshing gremolata, which is an Italian condiment (read: basically a textured pesto). It’s classically made with olive oil, parsley and lemon zest, but I don’t always follow the rules.

Try the pesto, I mean the gremolata, on everything from steak to eggs. And certainly try it on this roasted cauliflower.

Happy Eating,
~Monique

Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Orange Ginger Gremolata
2 thick cauliflower slices
1 tbls + 2 tbls olive oil
1/2 cup cauliflower leaves
1/2 cup parsley
1 garlic clove
1/2 tbls fresh minced ginger (go for 1 tbls if you like a lot of zing!)
1 blood orange – zested + half juiced and half peeled into segments
1/4 tsp aleppo or red pepper flakes
pink salt
fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place the cauliflower slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Carefully rub each side with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil and top salt and pepper.

Bake for 20-30 minutes until desired doneness is reached.

In the meantime make the gremolata (pesto). Simply finely chop the cauliflower leaves, parsley, garlic, ginger all the ingredients together and stir with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and the orange zest and juice (save the orange segments to top the steaks.)

Our use a mini processor to just pulse to combine, stopping short of making this too smooth.

Putting it all together. Spread a scoop or two of the gremolata over the roasted cauliflower. Top with the orange segments and toasted pine nuts. Enjoy hot or room temperature.

NOTE: the gremolata makes more than you will need for just 2 slices of cauliflower. Store the remaining in a glass container in the refrigerator for another use.

Beautiful spring cauliflower just waiting to be roasted.

Roasted Vegetables with Almond-Carrot Top Crumble

Sheet pan roasted vegetables are my absolute go-to dish in the fall and winter. I always have a batch of them around because they are so super simple to do, they make a great side or a fine main, can always be blended into a soup and it’s a great way to use up all the odds and ends.

But plain ol’ roasted veggies can certainly get boring, even to me. Yummy sauces (like my Cashew Bechamel Sauce or my Coconut Almond Dipping Sauce) are just a couple ways to mix it up. Today I’m giving you another fun option with this Almond and Carrot Top Crumble. Think of it as a loose pesto that just needs to be tossed together.

Fresh kaleidoscope carrots, purple sweet potatoes, honey nut squash and a couple of onion slices provided a great backdrop for the topping, but any roasted veggie is going to perform great in this dish. I toss all the veggies on a tray and let them cook, then just toss the remaining ingredients on top- it couldn’t be simpler!

Happy Eats,

~Monique

Roasted Veggies with Almond-Carrot Top Crumble

1 sheet pan full of veggies, chopped into large pieces (I used 1/2 small squash, 1 small potato, two handfuls of carrots and onion slices)

2 tbls olive oil, divided

1 tsp Himalayan pink salt

fresh ground black pepper

1 cup carrot tops, roughly chopped

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1 garlic clove, minced

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

->Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss the veggies with 1 tbls of the oil, the salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper. Roast 25 minutes or until just fork tender. Finish under the broiler for 2 minutes.

While the veggies bake, toss together the remaining oil, carrot tops, almonds, garlic clove and lemon juice and zest in a small bowl.

When potatoes and done, drizzle the dressing over the top.

Asian Pesto

Try this Asian Cilantro Pesto recipe in place of traditional basil versions. Great tossed with noodles, to brighten pho, as a pizza base or just spread on a cracker.

1 green onion

1 bunch of cilantro (1 oz)

2 tbls toasted sunflower seeds

2 tbls toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/2 chili pepper or jalapeno (seeds removed for less heat)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tbls minced ginger

1/3 cup oil (additional as needed)

juice of 1/2 lime

1/4 tsp salt

 

Place all of the ingredients in a mini food processor or blender and pulse to combine until desired texture is reached. Or use a mortar and pestle to work into a paste.

Sundried Tomato Pesto

Prep Time:
30 minutes (for soaking)

Cooking Time:
>5 minutes to blend

Ingredients
12 sundried tomatoes

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup almonds

1 tbls fresh rosemary

1/2 tsp smoky paprika

2 garlic cloves

1 packed cup kale

1 1/2 tbls white balsamic vinegar

Directions
Soak the tomatoes in the olive oil for about 30 minutes.

Combine all ingredients (including the soaked tomatoes and oil) in a blender or food processor. Blend until combined and chunky, but stop before the pesto is smooth. Leaving some texture in the pesto gives it more depth.

Use immediately or store in the fridge for up to one week.