Parsley Walnut Pesto

June 11, 2023mayurisjikoni

Recipe: Parsley Walnut Pesto

Parsley Walnut Pesto is different from the traditional basil and pine nut pesto. With a bit of peppery and earthy taste from the parsley, slight tang from the walnuts, this pesto is a pleasant change especially during winter time. Basil tends to disappear or is too expensive during winter. Parsley makes a good substitute. And most of us have walnuts in our fridge or pantry.

What Is Pesto?

Pesto is a green sauce typically made from fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and hard cheese like parmesan. Originating from Genoa, traditionally it is crushed in a mortar using a pestle. However, modern times make use of food processors, blenders, choppers, etc.

Some Pesto Recipes On My Blog

Coriander Mint & Cashew Nut Pesto

Basil Pesto

How To Use Parsley Walnut Pesto

Pesto is a versatile sauce that can be used

as a dressing for salads. Love it especially when I make a pasta salad. Have you tried pesto with roasted potatoes and avocado?
as a base for sandwiches, my all time favourite is a caprese sandwich. Have you tried grilled sandwich with avocado and pesto?
as a sauce for pasta. Makes a delightful change from the usual tomato or white sauce.
with roasted chicken or grilled fish.
on pizza or flatbread.
as a dip. Tastes so good with pita chips, tomatoes, cucumber, etc
as a spread for breads. I love to use it as a filling for home baked breads. Check out my Braided Pesto Bread.

Sunday Funday Group

This week members are making homemade sauces. A theme suggested by Amy, I am sure we’re going to have a variety of them. My initial plan was to make homemade tomato ketchup which I use to make often when my kids were younger. But I was running short of time and also didn’t get the nice juicy roma tomatoes. They are still quite small and a bit hard.

Hubby bought a whole big bunch of flat parsley instead of cilantro (coriander)…again! Parsley doesn’t go well with Indian Cooking and how much can I use in salads, soups and bakes. So pesto it was. And this time added some walnuts instead of pine nuts. Turned out super delicious if I may say so.

Memories

When my daughter was working in Bangalore, she preferred to carry hearty salads when she didn’t want to have the lunch provided at her workplace. I use to make different salad dressings at home for her to carry with the salad. Once I tried out parsley walnut pesto and she loved it. My best friend use to love it whenever I would a jar for her. When I was in Mombasa, getting fresh basil was a bit difficult and pine nuts frightfully expensive. Often I would use coriander or parsley to make the pesto.

first published on 25/06/2017

Check Out Homemade Sauces By Fellow Members

Nasturtium Pesto by Cook with Renu
Buffalo Chicken Sauce by Palatable Pastime
Homemade Marinara Sauce by Sneha’s Recipe
Carrot Greens Pesto by Food Lust People Love
Rockfish with Cajun Butter Sauce by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Stir-Fried Squid in Black Bean Sauce by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Parsley Walnut Pesto by Mayuri’s Jikoni
Pineapple BBQ Sauce by Amy’s Cooking Adventures

Ingredients Required For Parsley Walnut Pesto

Fresh Parsley – I have used flat parsley. You can use the curly one too. Pluck the leaves and tender stalks. Don’t use the thicker stalks. Save them to prepare stock.

Walnuts – lightly roast them in a pan over low heat or in the microwave oven. Usually I roast it for a minute.

Olive Oil – use good quality virgin olive oil. Use enough olive oil so that the pesto stays fresh for a few more days.

Garlic – peel about 2-3 cloves of garlic. Best to use fresh garlic.

Hard Cheese – I have used parmesan. Use good quality parmesan for that cheesy taste.

Salt – use any salt. I have used normal iodized one.

Pepper – Black pepper crushed. Add according to your taste.

Watch How To Make Parsley Walnut Pesto – YouTube Shorts