Cilantro Pesto

Submitted by DragonShoes

"This is a wonderful twist on pesto. Sometimes the basil version gets old and you want to impress everyone at the dinner table or potluck with a tasty new version."

 

• Ready In: 10mins
• Ingredients: 6
• Yields: 1 cup
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 1⁄2 cup almonds
• 3 large garlic cloves
• 1⁄4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt

directions

1. Combine the cilantro, garlic and almonds in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Add the parmesan, oil and salt and puree to a smooth paste. Stir into hot pasta and serve.

Reviews

[east coast nellie]

Thank you for this easy and quick! recipe. I love it! Tonight, I got the pasta boiling before I started to wash the cilantro and assemble my ingredients. By the time the pasta was done, the pesto was a perfect paste, and the whole thing was on the table in under 20 minutes. Just as a side note, I added some baby carrots and sliced turkey kielbasa to the boiling water with my pasta, and tossed it all together with the pesto after draining. It was delish! I also made an alternate version with half cup of thai basil and half cilantro, using 2 tblsp of sesame oil instead of olive and that was very tasty as well! I used the almonds each time, and 4 cloves of garlic instead of three. This recipe is a keeper, and very versatile. I even added a dollop of plain yogurt tonight to make it a little creamy and it was fantastic.

 

[Ambervim]

This is a wonderful variation on pesto. Preparing for a big event at church, the cilantro was missing. Someone went out and got more. Then it was found. I quadrupled this recipe and froze in in cubes for future use.

 

[marliewiggins]

This is so good I made it 3 times. First tossed with pasta, then put on Italian bread slices and then added to quesadillas oh and what was left went on the pizza. Thank you for a keeper, it's in my favorite recipe book now. I didn't change a thing!

 

[rc2011]

We loved this! I had planned on making the basil pesto, but cilantro was all I had on hand. This recipe came up after a quick search. Glad I tried it! I did not have almonds, so I used what I had which was unsalted macadamia nuts. Tasted wonderful. Added alitlte extra olive oil since my blender would not puree it until I added more. I'd say about a tablespoon more oilive oil. We'll be making this one again!

 

[ct in ut]

This is a thick delicious pesto! Don't triple recipe for a blender because it's too much as I learned. Also the "canned" grated Parmesan is salty enough so next time I won't add any salt.