Cilantro Pesto

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My local grocery store only sells cilantro in large batches, so when I buy it for a recipe, I always have a large amount left over. It doesn’t cost too much, but I hate wasting food, so I went searching for other recipes that I could create to use up the cilantro. I usually buy it to make my salsa, but most recently when I had some left over, I decided to make a cilantro pesto with it. Pesto is a sauce is traditionally made with crushed pine nuts, basil and olive oil, but this recipe uses cilantro instead of the basil. It gives it a fresh taste. I also didn’t have pine nuts on hand, so I used almonds, and it turned out delicious.

As a Physician Assistant I’m frequently counseling patients on dietary changes to improve their cholesterol and heart health, and increasing healthy fats in their diet is a great way to do that. Almonds and olive oil both are considered healthy fats because they consist of monounsaturated fats. I figured I should work on “practicing what I preach” and that was part of the reason I decided to try this recipe.

I used my Cuisinart food processor, which is a huge time saver. Because this recipe is basically pureed, you can dump everything in at once and run it, then add seasonings to taste and be done. I added my leftover cilantro (about 2 cups). You can throw the whole cilantro piece in there, stem and all, because you’re pureeing it. The stems provide a little stronger flavor than the leaves do. Add in about 3 cloves of fresh garlic, 1 cup of almonds, 1/2 cup of olive oil and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. Blend until smooth. Then add salt to taste.

You can also add more olive oil if it needs to be thinner, or more Parmesan cheese for more flavor.

I ended up adding more olive oil and Parmesan cheese after this picture, to thin and add more flavor. I used this with pasta and chicken, but you could also use it as a sauce for seafood or pork; you could add mayo and use it as a sandwich spread, or add sour cream to use it as a sauce for Mexican dishes. You could stir it into hummus to add some flavor, or add some lime juice and use it with Spanish rice. It’s a healthy sauce that can be tweaked to use in a lot of dishes. And, if you have too much, you can spoon it into an ice cube tray and freeze, then transfer to a freezer safe bag until ready to use.

Cilantro Pesto

• 2 cups of cilantro leaves (packed)
• 1 cup of almonds
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 6 garlic cloves (peeled)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of salt (adjust to taste)

Add the first 5 ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add salt to taste. You can add more olive oil if the sauce needs to be thinner, or more Parmesan cheese to thicken or add more flavor. Serve with pasta, chicken, seafood or pork, or see some more serving ideas above. Enjoy!