Green Apple Pesto Recipes

PESTO-RUBBED BAKED SALMON WITH SMASHED CUCUMBER AND GREEN APPLE SALAD

Steps:

• For the salmon: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Brush a baking dish with a thin coat of softened butter and sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the surface. Set the salmon fillets upright (flat-side down) on the baking dish, brush a little soft butter over each fillet and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
• In a small bowl, whisk the pesto, mustard and lemon juice together and season it with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture evenly over the salmon, covering the top surface only. Bake until the desired doneness, about 14 minutes for medium rare for 1 1/2-inch-thick fillets (cook longer for thicker pieces).
• For the salad: Meanwhile, put the cucumber into a clean towel on a cutting board and smash it with the heel of your hand. Unwrap the cucumber and slice it crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces; transfer them to a mixing bowl and sprinkle a little salt over them. Add the dates and apples and stir to mix. Add the pine nuts, olive oil, mint and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper, and toss until evenly combined.
• Serve the salmon fillets on warm plates with the salad on the side.

GREEN APPLE PESTO

Steps:

• Peel, core and chunk apples.
• Combine everything BUT the oils in the food processor and blend till nearly smooth.
• GRADUALLY add the oils, one after the other, with the food processor running to blend till smooth.
• Unless closely covered, the top will darken during storage but that's only a cosmetic problem.
• Enjoy as a dip, sandwich spread, or by the spoonful for a snack.

CLASSIC PESTO

Steps:

• Heat a small frying pan over a low heat. Cook the pine nuts until golden, shaking occasionally. Put into a food processor with the basil, parmesan, olive oil and garlic cloves. Whizz until smooth, then season to taste.

BRIGHT GREEN PESTO AND ITS MANY USES

Steps:

• Bring a medium-size saucepan full of water to a boil while you rinse basil leaves. Fill a bowl with ice water and place it next to the saucepan with a skimmer close by (a Chinese skimmer is good for this). When water comes to a boil, salt generously and add basil leaves. Push them down into the water with the back of a skimmer to submerge, count to five, then remove immediately with skimmer and transfer to ice water. Drain and squeeze out excess water.
• Place pine nuts or walnuts in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add blanched basil and kosher salt to taste (I use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon) and process until finely chopped. With machine running, slowly add olive oil and continue to process for a full minute, or until the mix is reduced to a fine purée. Transfer to a bowl. You should have about 1/2 cup of purée .
• When you are ready to use the pesto, purée garlic in a mortar and pestle, or put through a garlic press, and stir into the pesto (or if using a mortar and pestle, add the puréed basil to the mashed garlic in mortar and work garlic and pesto together with pestle). Add Parmesan and stir in. The pesto will condense when you add the cheese, so even though you've added a half-cup of cheese to the purée, you will end up with about 2/3 cup of pesto. Follow the instructions in recipes for thinning out with water.

LEMON & GREENS PESTO PASTA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Meanwhile, cook the broccoli for 4 mins in boiling salted water. Drain, then put in a food processor along with the basil, spinach and pine nuts. Pulse until combined.
• Stir in the garlic, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, peas, parmesan and soft cheese, and season to taste.
• Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pan and add the pesto along with a splash of water to loosen. Toss together, check the seasoning and serve.