Poblano Pesto Potato Salad

Well, I made another potato salad. It seems to be my new thing. I love a potato salad, or at least I love them as long as they don't contain mayo. I don't do mayo. But fortunately for me, there are still plenty of creative things one can do with potatoes.



I had a couple of leftover poblano peppers to use up, and I thought I was being very clever when I decided that they would taste fabulous as a pesto sauce. However, it turns out that I was not the first person to think of this. A quick Google search revealed that another blogger had made a sauce just like the one I thought I had dreamed up. Using their basic recipe as a guide, I made my own with a couple of different ingredients, such as fresh cilantro and marcona almonds. I especially love the marcona almonds in there; they have such a nice flavor, and they're already roasted and salted. That means I can use less oil and salt in the pesto; score!

I divided the batch of pesto in half, and used one half to make a simple potato salad. It was delicious! Just the thing for July 4th. The other half is awaiting its use in my fridge; I'm thinking about just using it as a pasta sauce. It's very scrumptious; it would be good as a sauce for meat or shrimp, as well. Heck, you could even use it to top your tacos or fajitas; the poblanos and cilantro give it a Mexican kinda flair.




Poblano Pesto
adapted from The Food Medic
makes about 1 1/2 cups pesto

Ingredients
2 large poblano peppers, blackened over an open flame or under the broiler, with the skin, seeds, and stems removed
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves (you can include stems)
1/2 cup marcona almonds
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, juiced
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
1. In a food processor, combine the almonds and garlic. Pulse until the almonds have been finely chopped. Add the poblanos, the cilantro, and the lemon juice. Process until the greens have been blended and the mixture resembles a coarse sauce. Slowly stream in the olive oil while the processor is running, then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Sprinkle in salt and pepper, to taste, and then pulse the food processor again until the mixture is uniform.

2. To make Poblano Pesto Potato Salad, simply mix half the pesto sauce with 1 lb. to 1 1/2 lbs. small Yukon gold potatoes that have been quartered and cooked in simmering water until fork tender (about 12 minutes). Store in the fridge until chilled, then serve. The other half of the pesto sauce can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for at least a week.

Spinach Pistachio Pesto

This pesto was another brain child of my week prior to vacation, when I had to get rid of some fridge staples and didn't want to grocery shop. I happened to purchase a pretty big ol' bag of pistachios not that long ago, and for some reason I was in the mood to make a pesto. Since I had some fresh cilantro and fresh spinach to use up, I decided to see what would happen if I combined all of these ingredients in my food processor!



I have to say, this was a pretty great idea! I generally make my pesto on the coarser side, because I like it to be less oily and caloric. I will drizzle a bit of olive oil into the pesto, and then I will use my hot, reserved pasta liquid in the pasta to compensate for the lack of moisture in the pesto. Normally, about 1/2 cup of the water will do the trick, but you can always add more if necessary. One final thing: I was all out of Parmesan cheese that day, which was a shame because it would have been so good in there. You can definitely add it into the pesto if you'd like, but I really liked the simplicity of this pesto without it. Either way, I don't really think you can lose with this one!

Spinach Pistachio Pesto
recipe by Bri
makes enough to cover 1 lb. pasta

Ingredients
4 cups spinach, loosely packed
1/2 cup cilantro (can use stems and leaves), loosely packed
1/2 cup raw, shelled pistachios, toasted
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2-1 tsp. salt
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions
1. Combine the pistachios and garlic cloves in the work bowl of a food processor; pulse to chop them finely. Add the spinach and cilantro; run the food processor long enough to make a coarse paste.

2. With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil and about 1/2 cup to 1 cup warm water (reserved pasta water works very well for this). The pesto will still be similar to paste, but will be looser and almost creamy looking. Add salt to taste.

3. Toss with your choice of pasta shape; add Parmesan cheese before serving if desired.

CEIMB: Roasted Tomato and Almond Pesto Pasta

I am thrilled to be able to present you with this week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe, because Ellie Krieger herself has chosen it for us! That's right. Somehow Ellie managed to find out about our little blogging group, and she kindly offered to share with us a new dish that she has come up with. Needless to say, we jumped on it and it was placed on the rotation for this week.

The dish, Whole Grain Spaghetti with Roasted Tomato and Almond Pesto (or whole grain rotini, which is what I used), is definitely one of Ellie's best, at least in our opinion! Not only is it packed with flavor and nutrition, but it's absolutely, uniquely delicious and so very easy to make! As you are boiling some water for pasta, you can easily assemble the pesto sauce. It starts out with some toasted almonds and a clove of garlic, which are chopped finely in a food processor.

Meanwhile, you slow-roast about 6 tomatoes in the oven (Ellie also presents the option of using a can of diced, fire-roasted tomatoes), which makes the tomatoes' flavor concentrate and become tangy-sweet. Sooo, sooo good. After they have roasted, into the food processor they go, along with some fresh basil, red wine vinegar, and crushed red pepper flakes.

You blend in some olive oil, then add salt to taste. What I could not get over at this point was how creamy the sauce became. I suppose if I had not processed the ingredients too much, I could have had a chunkier pesto, but I happen to like it the way it turned out. It wasn't completely smooth; there were still little nut pieces and basil flecks, which gave the sauce a great texture. Finally, you throw in some Parmesan cheese and gently pulse to combine. That's it for the sauce.

I was about 97% faithful to the original recipe. I did use rotini instead of spaghetti, and I also reduced the olive oil by 1 Tbsp. (I used 2 instead of the recommended 3) and bumped up the red wine vinegar from 1 tsp. to 4 tsp. I do like things tart, and this made it slightly more so. Finally, I served the pasta on a bed of fresh spinach, just to plump up the bowls a bit. Overall, we absolutely loved, loved, loved this dish! Even my son, who routinely gives me trouble at dinnertime, inhaled this and declared it "really good!" That's a huge compliment from him!

So, Ellie, if you're reading this, thanks so much for this wonderful recipe! I can hardly wait to make it again (and again). And if you have any other new recipes lying around that you want us to try, please don't hesitate to share! I hope the other ladies in the group had as much fun making, and eating, this as I did! You can find this recipe on our main CEIMB site, here. That's also where you will find the blogroll, so do stop by if you get a chance!

Bucatini with Jalapeno Pesto

I know I just posted about another pesto recipe last week, but this is one is so completely different that I thought it'd be okay to post about it today. This one is not made with basil, pine nuts, or even any cheese like the last one was. It isn't like any other pesto I've ever had. No, sir, this one uses green bell, jalapeno, and serrano peppers as its base!

As soon as I read over the ingredients list for this one, I thought it just sounded too crazy to work. However, that usually just makes me want to make something even more, because I just have to see for myself if it's going to be successful. So I decided to go for it.

You start out by toasting some pumpkin seeds in the oven. When they come out, in go some bell peppers and jalapeno peppers to roast. I used a combination of jalapeno and serrano as well as the bell, because that's what I needed to use up. Once the peppers are cool, and the skin is removed, you throw them in the food processor with the cooled pumpkin seeds, some cilantro, and some garlic, and coarsely chop. Stream in some olive oil and some lime juice, add salt and pepper to taste, and that's all it takes to produce a wildly flavorful, tangy, nutty, and very spicy concoction that tastes unbelievable on pasta.

The recipe I used (which I found on the site which used to be Recipezaar, but they've now switched it over to Food.com) added some halved cherry tomatoes in with the pasta and the pesto. Since I've discovered that I really love roasted, burst tomatoes, I went with that method for mine, and it was delicious. I'm sure any number of other veggies would be great in this, all tossed together with the pasta. I can see zucchini being delicious in there, asparagus, even peas. The possibilities are many for things to pair with this pesto!

Be prepared for the heat, though. This pesto is kinda killer! Granted, you can easily adjust the heat level to your liking by altering the combination of peppers you use. I love having that versatility with a recipe. I'm sure this would even work with just red and green bell peppers, and no hot peppers. However, for my tastes, I loved this just the way it was!

Pasta with Jalapeno Pesto

adapted from Recipezaar (now Food.com), recipe #13141

makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

5 Tbsp. shelled pumpkin seeds

2 green bell peppers

1 jalapeno pepper

2 serrano peppers

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, plus the zest of half a lime

1/2 tsp. salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. bucatini pasta (the thick spaghetti with a tiny hole down the center)

1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (roasted or not, it's up to you)

1/2 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet for 6-8 minutes, until fragrant and crunchy. Crank up the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.

2. Place all the peppers on a baking sheet, and roast them for 20 minutes or so, turning frequently. The smaller hot peppers take only about 10-15 minutes.

3. When the skin of the peppers has blistered, remove them from the oven. Let them cool a bit (I placed mine in a glass bowl covered in saran wrap to let them sweat a bit), then pull the skin away from the flesh. Discard the skin.

4. Place the peppers in a food processor, along with 4 Tbsp. of the reserved pumpkin seeds, the cilantro, and the garlic. Blend until the contents are coarsely chopped. With the machine running, slowly stream in the oil and lime juice. Blend in salt and pepper to taste.

5. While the peppers are roasting, you can start the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, then return it to the pot. Add the tomatoes and the pesto, and stir well to combine everything. (If you decide to go with burst cherry tomatoes, you can throw them in the oven on a separate baking sheet while the peppers roast. Simply coat them with a bit of olive oil, some salt and pepper, and let them cook for 10-15 minutes, until shriveled and bursting.)

6. Divide the pasta among shallow bowls, then sprinkle the reserved 1 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds and half the zest of a lime over each serving. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

CEIMB: Pesto Potato Salad

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe comes to us from Liz over at The Not So Skinny Kitchen. We love all things pesto around these parts, so of course we were very excited to make this one. I have to confess, I didn't actually make it; my hubby did. We had this dish on my birthday, and it was one of Andy's gifts to me to make the entire dinner we ate that evening. Hey, I wasn't about to put up a fight, even though technically I felt like I should prepare the potato salad. After all, it's my assignment, not his. But I think it still counts for the group. I ate it, so I totally participated!

Funny story, though. The next morning, I went into the refrigerator to try and figure out what leftovers I had on hand to serve for that evening's dinner. I couldn't find the leftover pesto, so finally I asked Andy where he had put it. Well, as it turns out, there was no leftover pesto! That's right; he had used the entire batch of fresh pesto in the potato salad! I thought mine looked particularly green, but I just figured that's the way it was supposed to look.

It didn't matter to us, though, because we loved it just the way it was! I'd like to try it the right way in the future, but for this meal I thought it was great. I absolutely love pesto, so having extra on my salad surely wasn't a problem for me. I'm just sorry I don't have another pesto dish to look forward to now with the leftovers. Oh, well. It'll give me an excuse to make more, I guess!

With this potato salad, we ate some fried chicken and waffles. I have always wanted to try chicken and waffles together, and I'm so glad I finally did. I loved it! I can't say for certain that the pesto salad paired up perfectly with waffles, but I didn't care. I loved everything I ate that night. And it was my birthday, after all, so as long as it made me happy, that's all that matters. And even though my older son initially found the mashup of foods on his plate a little weird at first, he ended up loving it, too!

Thanks to Liz for the great pick. A winner around here, made incorrectly and all! The recipe for the potato salad can be found on Food Network's site, here. The recipe we used for the fried chicken can be found on Recipezaar, here. Finally, the recipe for the Brown Butter Waffles can be found on the Daydreamer Desserts blog, here. Sooo very good!

Pizza Night

We had a great weekend this past week. It was productive, yet relaxing. Fun, yet lazy. Saturday, after we'd gotten some chores and essentials done around the house, we decided to make pizzas for dinner. Usually, we make our pizza dough in our trusty bread machine, and divide the dough into two equal halves. With these, we'll make a "Xander" pizza, which is made with toppings he'll like, and then we'll make a "Mom and Dad" pizza, that we can do fun, experimental things with, knowing Xander would probably never touch it!

This time, we decided to make a Shrimp and Feta Pesto Pizza. I had made some cilantro pesto a few months back, and frozen it for a later date. Then, of course, I never got around to using it, so I figured now was the time to thaw out that bad boy and put it to good use! We sort of made this pizza up as we went along, but I did have a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do, based on my earlier perusal of the internet for pesto pizza recipes. I included our recipe below, but keep in mind that this would be great with other toppings, too. Even just some pesto and cheese on a pizza is never a bad thing!

As for Xander's pizza, he first requested a pepperoni pizza. Then, when Daddy accidentally left the grocery store without the pepperoni, Xander's request became a pizza with "no sauce and no pepperoni." I believe he may have changed his mind at one point to a pizza that was only bread, but we managed to convince him that it wouldn't be a pizza unless it had something on it. Of course, then he wanted to know why a pizza had to have toppings, which turned into another slightly frustrating Q & A session, but that is another rant for another day. In the end, Xander asked for just sauce and "orange" cheese, or cheddar to anyone over 3. We added some turkey bacon and ham, to stand in for the pepperoni. The verdict? He hated it! Sigh.

We constantly struggle to get him to eat new things, and now he has taken a dislike to things he previously ate with no problems. He has suddenly become averse to french fries, of all things. Now pizza is gross to him. Tonight at dinner, he told me he hates milk. What's next? A passionate hatred for fruity snacks? Ha, that'll be the day! We did at least get a picture of him acting happy with his pizza. Too bad it was only an act. Better luck next time, though. Maybe for an upcoming pizza night we really will give him a pizza with no toppings....

Shrimp and Feta Pesto Pizza
serves 4

Ingredients
1 pizza dough (we used whole-wheat dough)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, sliced into long, thin strips
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 head garlic, roasted and smashed into a paste
1/2 - 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 lb. medium-size shrimp, already cooked and chopped into thirds
1/2 - 3/4 cup cilantro pesto (recipe from Recipezaar, here)
optional toppings: black olives, sliced cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini rings

Directions
Begin by melting 1 tablespoon butter in a medium pan over medium-low to medium heat. Add sliced onion, allowing to soften for 5 minutes with the lid on. Remove lid and continue to cook onions on medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes more, until soft and sweet. Remove pan from heat, add 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, and stir to combine. Set aside.

While onions are cooking, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare pizza dough by stretching and shaping into a 12-inch round pizza shape, or a long rectangular shape. Spread mashed, roasted garlic all over the pizza dough. Top the garlic with the cilantro pesto, leaving a 1/2-inch border on all sides of the dough.

Next, scatter the caramelized onions over the dough. Sprinkle feta cheese, and any additional toppings. Bake for about 5-7 minutes, then remove from oven. Add pre-cooked shrimp to the top of the pizza, and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until shrimp are heated through and the cheese has softened. Cut into wedges and serve.