Why stop with plain pesto? Now that you have a simple presto pesto recipe, let's see what we can do with it to change it up a bit...
I took on creamy pesto sauce, which is great for pasta, fish, and chicken.
Step 1: Pour 8 oz. of cream into a saucepan. I personally like to use light whipping cream to cut down on fat and calories, but heavy cream also works. Turn the burner on to low-medium.
Step 2: Add 2 tsp. of light butter, and whisk as it melt into the cream.
Step 3: When the butter is melted, pop out 2 frozen cubes of presto pesto, or use 2 tbsp fresh pesto and add it to the pan. (Cook's note: Taste, as usual, and adjust to taste. I usually go with more pesto for a stronger taste). Whisk it in evenly, and turn the temp up to bring it to a light rolling boil.
Step 4: Once the sauce comes up to a boil, turn it down to low and continue to whisk occasionally. Keep the sauce simmering until it begins to thicken and then turn off the burner. It will continue to thicken as it cools down, so use it once it reaches your desired consistency.
I served the sauce over grilled wild-caught salmon, with a side of caprese quinoa salad. I must admit, after tasting how awesome the sauce was, I ended up pouring it over the quinoa as well.
To make the caprese quinoa, cook quinoa at least a few hours ahead of time, and refrigerate the quinoa. (For cooking instructions, see http://ataps-easyeats.blogspot.com/2011/08/delicious-quinoa.html). Slice cherry or grape tomatoes to the desired size, chop up fresh basil, and obtain fresh mozzarella (cook's tip: a lot of grocery stores have it available in various sized balls, so I found some smaller than marbles, which was perfect, because I didn't have to cut it down to size!). Mix all of it into the quinoa and serve cold.
I took on creamy pesto sauce, which is great for pasta, fish, and chicken.
Step 1: Pour 8 oz. of cream into a saucepan. I personally like to use light whipping cream to cut down on fat and calories, but heavy cream also works. Turn the burner on to low-medium.
Step 2: Add 2 tsp. of light butter, and whisk as it melt into the cream.
Step 3: When the butter is melted, pop out 2 frozen cubes of presto pesto, or use 2 tbsp fresh pesto and add it to the pan. (Cook's note: Taste, as usual, and adjust to taste. I usually go with more pesto for a stronger taste). Whisk it in evenly, and turn the temp up to bring it to a light rolling boil.
Step 4: Once the sauce comes up to a boil, turn it down to low and continue to whisk occasionally. Keep the sauce simmering until it begins to thicken and then turn off the burner. It will continue to thicken as it cools down, so use it once it reaches your desired consistency.
I served the sauce over grilled wild-caught salmon, with a side of caprese quinoa salad. I must admit, after tasting how awesome the sauce was, I ended up pouring it over the quinoa as well.
To make the caprese quinoa, cook quinoa at least a few hours ahead of time, and refrigerate the quinoa. (For cooking instructions, see http://ataps-easyeats.blogspot.com/2011/08/delicious-quinoa.html). Slice cherry or grape tomatoes to the desired size, chop up fresh basil, and obtain fresh mozzarella (cook's tip: a lot of grocery stores have it available in various sized balls, so I found some smaller than marbles, which was perfect, because I didn't have to cut it down to size!). Mix all of it into the quinoa and serve cold.
