Parsley Pesto Pasta

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

• Parsley: Look for Italian parsley that is deep green with no signs of yellowing or wilting. Try to use it as soon as you can, so it’s fresh. To store it, keep it in a jar or vase with water, so only the ends of the stems are submerged. Treat the bunch like flowers! My preference is flat-leaf parsley rather than curly parsley.
• Garlic: The recipe calls for 2 cloves, but you can add another one if you like it garlicky.
• Walnuts: Even though basil pesto is typically made with pine nuts, for this parsley version, walnuts are my first choice—even better if you toast them. You can also use almonds.
• Parmesan is a hard Italian cow’s milk cheese. You can also use Pecorino Romano, a hard sheep’s milk cheese, or a mix of both. If you want to keep the pesto vegan, swap out the cheese and use a heaping tablespoon of nutritional yeast.
• Lemon: Fresh lemon juice adds a nice brightness.
• Olive oil: Make sure to use extra virgin olive oil for the best taste.
• Salt & pepper are essential seasonings. If you want to a little heat, include a pinch of red pepper flakes.

How To Make Parsley Pesto

You can use a food processor or blender.

1. Mince the garlic. Instead of adding all the ingredients at once, I start with the garlic, so the garlic gets finely chopped. Take advantage of the blade of the food processor to mince the cloves, then you don’t have to do it by hand with a knife.

2. Add the parsley, Parmesan, lemon juice, nuts, salt and pepper to the food processor.

3. Process everything, so the mixture is finely chopped.

4. Drizzle in the olive oil while the motor is running. In a food processor, pour it through the feeder tube. With a blender, remove the cap in the lid and pour in the oil. It will mix in pretty quickly with the rest of the ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl or pitcher as necessary.

Do not puree the pesto too much. You should still be able to see tiny chopped parsley leaves and nuts. You can pulse it if you’re concerned about over-mixing.

How To Use Pesto

Even though this parsley pesto recipe does not have basil, you can still use it in the same ways:

1. Pesto pasta is probably my most favorite way to eat it.  Cook your pasta shape of choice (i.e. spaghetti, penne, fusilli) in salted boiling water until it’s al dente. Save a 1/2 cup of the cooking water before draining the pasta. Put the noodles in a big bowl and stir in the pesto, adding some of the reserved water as needed to coat it. Finish with Parmesan cheese, flaky sea salt and black pepper.
2. Pizza: Go all pesto on the crust or combine it with tomato sauce. You can also add dollops of pesto all over the top of a cooked pizza.
3. Eggs: Whisk pesto into raw eggs to add herby and garlic flavors to a frittata or a simple scramble.
4. Spread/Condiment: Slather pesto onto a slices of bread for sandwiches, crostini or bruschetta.
5. Dip: Raw vegetables like carrots, bell peppers and cucumbers are so good when you use parsley pesto like an herb dip.
6. Salad dressing: Add a splash of vinegar and a little extra olive oil, to whisk the pesto into vinaigrette.