Parsley Pecan Pesto Sauce

Before planting my garden, I should have taken stock of what already existed. I got a small Italian parsley plant (amongst other herbs and vegetables) and when I brought it home, I discovered that one of the raised beds (one I wasn’t planning on using) was overtaken by an out of control Italian parsley plant. Literally almost half of the bed is parsley. I took a picture for your reference.

The bad news is: I don’t eat parsley all that often. What to do with bushels full of parsley … hmm … well today I made pesto. And after cutting off two cups full of parsley leaves, you can barely see a dent in that big bush.

Did I ever mention I’m psychic? Maybe not psychic but I have really good intuition at times. I see a lot of pesto in my future. Unless I can find other recipes that call for large quantities of parsley or I can get my neighbors to  have at that bush in my raised bed.

ingredients.

• 2 c. fresh Italian flat leaf parsley (from your garden if you have it!)
• ½ c. chopped pecans
• ⅔ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 c. olive oil
• 1 T. lemon juice (juice of half a small lemon)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

directions.

1. In your food processor add parsley, pecans, cheese, garlic and red pepper flakes. Pulse until finely ground. In a small bowl whisk oil and lemon juice together. Pour slowly into your food processor while pulsing to combine.
2. Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pour over prepared pasta.

I was a little bit scared that pesto made of parsley would taste bad. I always thought of parsley as a garnish – something that has very little taste. I was happy to find that this pesto seemed similar to other pesto sauces I’ve made in the past. There was enough garlic and cheese in the recipe to bring lots of flavor to the sauce.

Recipe rating: 