I was thrilled to be watching Everyday Italian and see a virtually dairy-free pesto. Giada adds Parmesan and uses walnuts. I don’t think it needs cheese (and trust me, I like cheese on everything), and I add toasted pumpkin seed in place of walnuts to make it safe for my allergic toddler. Here’s Giada De Laurentiis’ original version, and here’s my modified version:
Artichoke Pesto on Ciabatta
1 (8-ounce) pack frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
1 cup fresh parsley leaves, packed down
1/2 cup chopped toasted pumpkin seeds
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh parsley leaves, packed down
1/2 cup chopped toasted pumpkin seeds
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
In a food processor combine the artichokes, parsley, walnuts, lemon zest and juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Run the machine to finely chop all the ingredients, stopping the machine a few times to scrape down the sides. Then, with the machine running, drizzle in 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil.
Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Drizzle the ciabatta slices with the 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Grill until toasted, about 5 minutes. Spread the artichoke pesto over the toasted slices and serve.
6 Responses
Is that the one where she has her sister on the show? I just added basil to my grocery list so I could make it this week. Yum! I love Everyday Italian. Interesting variation to the recipe, I’ll have to try it!
Oh, hooray for pesto! Delicious. I have very fond memories of the sister in one branch who used to make it fresh and send it home with us nearly every week the entire summer I spent in one city in Sicily.
That would be just about perfect with a little bit of parmagianna and some gruyere. 🙂
This is from the episode where Giada’s sister just had a baby (so this is a pesto that freezes well).
I agree that it would be delightful with cheese.
I’ve always made pesto with pineneuts not walnuts–do you know if pinenuts tend to cause allergies in kids?
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