Pesto!

Little_Vics

oooh - it makes an amazing lasagne! I use aubergine instead of pasta - so layer up aubergine & peppers, a spread of pesto, some mozzerella, some chopped toms and repeat. Bake for about 30 mins. Yummy yum yum.

CCP

I love pesto! :drool: One of my favourites is toast, spread with a bit of pesto, topped with sliced tomatoes and some grated cheese, then put back under the grill to warm the toms and melt the cheese. It's also lovely stirred through roasted veggies, either as a side dish or layered up with lasagne sheets and tomato sauce for a veggie lasagne.

raspberry_collins

Stir some pesto into soft cheese (Philadephia-type) and dunk plain breadsticks in for a lunch snack. Nom nom!

MidLifeCrisis_3

raspberry_collins wrote: »

Stir some pesto into soft cheese (Philadephia-type) and dunk plain breadsticks in for a lunch snack. Nom nom!

That's what I'd bought one jar for in the first place and you're right it is very yummy! I think I used the other for a pesto topped fish dish once and then forgot I had it as it had worked it's way to the back. By my reckoning I suspect they're at least a year old, but I suppose the oil and the fact that I haven't opened them ever since has kept them ok. Thanks for all the recipe suggestions I'm feeling really hungry now:A I also searched for pesto on the bbc good food website as suggested and found some really nice ones there too for a summer in winter chicken and a lasagne with pesto that both have great reviews. Oooh how am I ever going to choose which recipe to do for dinner tonight now, if only I had an aubergine

MLC

mummybearx

I use pesto to make small tomato tarts. Puff pastry square, spread a bit of pesto and top with sliced toms and season. Bake til golden, serve with a salad

Or I buy filled pasta from Aldi, think it's 60-70p a pack. Boil the pasta and drain well, scoop of pesto and stir through the pasta and serve. Midweek dinner in about 7 mins

skintchick

As long as pesto is covered with oil it keeps for ages. I keep mine in the fridge and top up with olive oil if the level is low when I've used it.

It will go mouldy if not covered with oil.

honeythewitch

msb5262 wrote: »

Hi OP,

You are very lucky! Pesto is expensive but delicious and very versatile.

My younger son's favourite meal is pasta with chicken and pesto...
boil pasta until done, drain and return to the saucepan. Now add scraps or strips of cooked chicken, pour on some cream/creme fraiche, a couple of spoonfuls of pesto and grate a little parmesan over. Stir well and serve with salad.

I like green spaghetti (cooked pasta with pesto stirred through and a little grated cheese), also pasta with bacon and pesto which is basically the same as the chicken recipe but with cooked bacon instead of chicken!

Pesto is also great to add to pasta sauce as a quick way of giving a flavour boost. My dad puts a teaspoonful in his home made salad dressing - it's great, and some people make mashed potato with pesto though that might be an acquired taste...

I would freeze it too, though I'd probably just freeze the jars and use a sharp knife to take out what I need. Being very oily, it doesn't go properly hard when frozen, and I can think of plenty of times when an ice cube of frozen pesto would be way too much of a good thing.

HTH

MsB

I freeze mine in an old chocolate box layer because they are much shallower than ice cubes.