🥘 Ingredients
- roasted ½ cup
- cilantro leaves and tender stems no tough stems; see Note 2 2 ½ cup
- garlic cloves 2
- jalapeño pepper 1
- medium lemon 1
- kosher salt ¼ tsp
- Freshly
- neutral-flavored oil 0.33 cup
📝
I like this pesto best with pistachios, but you can use cashews instead. If your nuts are raw, toast them in a dry frying pan over medium-low to medium heat. Toss frequently until nutty in aroma and browned in spots. If your nuts are salted, use just a pinch of salt. Not a fan of cilantro? You can use basil or flat-leaf parsley here (make sure to omit the thick stems). For moderate heat, use 1/2 pepper. For mild heat, remove the membranes and seeds. I normally prefer olive oil in sauces, but the slight grassy bitterness of olive oil can make this pesto a bit too bitter alongside the cilantro, so I recommend using a neutral-flavored oil here (or you can use half of both, or a light-tasting olive oil).
-
1Prepare: roasted , cilantro leaves and tender stems no tough stems; see Note 2 , garlic cloves , jalapeño pepper , medium lemon , kosher salt , Freshly cracked black pepper, neutral-flavored oil .
-
2Add the roasted nuts to a food processor and blitz until in very tiny pieces. Then add the cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, lemon zest, 2 tbsp of lemon juice, 1/4 tsp salt, and pepper to taste. Blend until a paste forms, scraping down the sides as you go. Scrape the paste towards the middle.
-
3Turn on the motor and stream in the oil until it comes together into a sauce. If the sauce hasn’t come together yet and you don’t want to add more oil, add 1-2 tbsp of water to bring it all together. Taste, add more lemon juice for acidity, more salt to taste, or more oil for richness, and blend again.
-
4Store in a sealed, labeled jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.