Thai Basil Pesto

So, while I'm on a pesto roll, I've got two huge Thai basil plants in my garden.  Thai basil has a great, anise-y smell that makes you crave a trip to Rearn Thai or similar.  This recipe is an oldie but a goodie - I haven't made it in awhile, but those plants were begging me to do something!  This recipe is from my friend Marlene, rockstar geologist and co-creator and coordinator of the Sustainable Food Systems major at Guilford College.  If you don't have overgrown Thai basil in your yard, it's easy to find at international markets like Super G.

Thai Basil Pesto
Ingredients

• 1.5 cups Thai basil leaves, packed
• 0.5 cups cilantro leaves, whole (get this at Super G too, so cheap!)
• 0.5 cups peanut butter
• 1 tbs fresh ginger root, grated
• 3 cloves garlic coarsely chopped (from the CSA!)
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp chili garlic paste, more to taste (I subbed a habañero from the CSA basket)
• 3 tbs lime juice

Directions
Put all the ingredients in a food processor, whiz it until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary.

This is good on noodles, grilled salmon or shrimp.  I've also made a pizza with it, using this pesto as the base and adding shrimp and mozzarella but I haven't made that in a long time!  Need to change that.

Some pics!

All the ingredients in the food processor (I doubled the recipe)

Started out with only 1/2 habanero, added the other half after tasting for heat...proceed cautiously!

Ready for the freezer!

Microgreens Pesto

The past few weeks we've been getting "microgreens" in the CSA basket.  I think they are radish sprouts?  Anyway,they are very peppery, a bit too peppery for me to eat on their own.  I thought they might make a good substitution for arugula in this  this arugula pesto recipe, which I've been making for awhile.  We really liked it on what we call a "salad pizza" and I"m sure it'd be good on grilled meat or fish as well.  The main change I made besides using the microgreens instead of arugula was to use pistachios instead of the pine nuts I usually use.  You can by a bag of them at Costco and they're good for snacks and salads, and work very nicely in this pesto.

Microgreens Pistachio Pesto (adapted from Arugula Pesto from Serious Eats)

Ingredients

1 cup packed microgreens
2 tbs shelled pistachio nuts (roasted and salted)
1/2 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 medium garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
2 1/2  tbs olive oil (a little more if you think it needs it)
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions
 
Place all the ingredients except olive oil, salt and pepper in a food processor, and pulse until finely chopped, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as required. While the processor is running, add olive oil slowly to form a smooth paste.  Add additional olive oil if you like your pesto a little more loose.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Can be frozen - I either use an ice cube tray or freeze it in 1/4 cup amounts in snack sized ziploc bags that I press flat and put in a quart freezer bag. The 1/4 amount is just right for a pizza.

This is easy to double if you've got an overabundance of greens.

A Royal Wedding and Salad Pizza

Hi y'all-
And y'all for real.  I got to spend the very early morning (up at 4am) watching the Royal Wedding live, and my favorite part was Bishop Michael Curry, who BROUGHT IT. And you should take a moment to watch his sermon, with tea or without. Nothing from the CSA ended up in our breakfast this morning, but it was delicious.
We had:
Sausage Rolls (made w/ PTB Sausage)
Scones  with homemade orange marmalade, strawberry jam and clotted cream (hard to find in the 'boro)
Tea Sandwiches with radish spread from Deep Run Roots and cucumber. (see post here for recipe, sandwiches on Pepperidge Farm Very Thin White Bread)
English Breakfast Tea (a proper brew).
All super tasty.

Cut to life after the wedding, folks that need to be fed and who are not as interested in the wedding...

Time for some pizza!

I made Mark Bittman's Pizza Dough from "How to Cook Everything" which is my favorite. This recipe is very similar, but I use 14 oz of flour (see measuring with weights rant earlier). 

This is a "salad pizza" meaning that after you pull out of the oven, you douse it salad greens.  It's very tasty and makes you feel better about eating a pizza.

The base for the pizza is an arugula pesto that I make using the Spicy Salad Mix from the Guilford College Farm (it's very spicy, and has a lot of arugula in it).  I use this recipe - changes I make are using 1/4 cup of oil instead of 1/3 cup, and I sub toasted pine nuts for the walnuts.  I whirled some up this afternoon, but I got no pics.  I freeze it in a ice cube tray so I can pull it out all winter.

Pizza:
Rolling out the pizza and covering w/ about 1/4 cup of arugula pesto, prosciutto and mozzarella:

Note: I put the pizza on parchment paper, it makes getting in pizza onto the stone in the oven SO MUCH EASIER!  Then after 5 minutes I take it out so the pizza can crisp up ( you can also make this pizza on the grill, that post will come later this summer!) The pizza cooks for a total of 10 minutes at 500°, so 5 minutes with the parchment, and then 5 minutes without.

When it comes out, cover it up with spicy salad:

Then cut it up and eat!