Sage & Walnut Pesto by TheDevineKitchen

Sage & Walnut Pesto

Yield: 4 8-ounce jars

I had a massive sage plant this summer, so my husband decided to pull half of it out of our garden without notice. Yikes!  I quickly went to work and made sage pesto.  I froze most of it and will pull it out during the cooler months.

How to use sage pesto?  I like to swirl a teaspoon in plated vegetable soups; it’s also wonderfully thinned out with a little olive oil or water and drizzled over roasted vegetables. It can be served as a sauce with gnocchi or pasta, on pizza, or folded into freshly cooked quinoa or white beans.  Spread it on crostini as an hor d’oeuvre and top with white beans and fresh chopped tomato.  It’s delicious over salmon, in stuffed chicken breasts, and served alongside grilled meat.  In a nutshell, pesto is versatile and will elevate the flavor, texture and appearance of whatever you decide to serve it with.

Ingredients:

2 medium heads garlic or one large

1 cup roasted walnuts (toast them in a 350F oven for 6 minutes or until fragrant and ever so lightly golden brown)

3 cups fresh sage leaves, thick stems removed

1 cup fresh parsley, tender stems intact

1 cup or more cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, plus 1-2 teaspoons for storing

1 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or less (optional)  

Zest of one lemon (avoid white pith as its quite bitter) 

Note: Treat this recipe as a guideline as your measurements don’t need to be exact.  It’s as simple as adding a lot of fresh herbs with garlic, roasted nuts, olive oil, salt and Parmesan cheese if you please. Note that pesto stands strong without the cheese, which I tend to add “à la minute” if at all.  Add less or more olive oil depending on whether you want this pesto as a thick spread or a thin sauce at the time of serving.    

Method:

1. In a food processor with a motor running, add garlic and pulse until chopped for approximately 10 seconds.  Add walnuts, herbs, salt and pulse until mixed.  Stream in olive oil until combined, then add lemon zest and mix.  Taste and adjust seasoning.                                                                                                                                                             

Variations:

• Add a pinch or two of hot red pepper flakes if you like a bit of contrast and heat or add freshly ground pepper.  

• If you don’t have an abundance of sage substitute with some carrot tops (yes, carrot tops!).  

• Omit the sage and use just carrot tops and substitute fresh basil for the parsley.  This is also yummy!