Peppermint pesto is a very tender and fresh sauce, perfect for boiled fish, grilled meat or poultry. It harmoniously sets off juicy “earthy” lamb, combines with pasta with early vegetables, is part of some soups, in Italy it is put in pizza and simply spread on sandwiches, while the sweet version of this sauce soloes in some desserts.
Pick your recipe
You will need
-
- Classic Mint Pesto
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 100 g peeled pine nuts
- small bunch of mint leaves
- olive oil
- Mint Pesto with Basil and Almonds
- 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 3/4 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped almonds
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Dessert Peppermint Pesto
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups mint leaves
- 1/2 cup almond flakes
- 2 tablespoons of liquid honey
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instruction manual
1
Classic Mint Pesto
To make pesto sauce, you can use a pestle and mortar (this is how Italian housewives have made this sauce for centuries) or grind the ingredients in a pulsed mode in a food processor. Proponents of the traditional authentic method claim that this way the pesto contains more essential oils, but, of course, rubbing nuts and herbs in a mortar is a long task and requires some effort. In any case, you need to combine pine nuts with peeled garlic cloves into a single paste-like mass. Then add mint leaves to the mortar or bowl of the harvester and continue to grind, pouring a little olive oil to combine the sauce. Since pesto is a "raw" sauce, the taste of vegetable oil will be clearly distinguishable in it. Use the best cold pressed oil that you can afford. You will need oil from a few tablespoons to 1/3 cup, depending on how thick the sauce you want to cook.
2
Mint Pesto with Basil and Almonds
Prepare a more sophisticated version of peppermint pesto, in which a piercing note of fresh peppermint is harmoniously complemented by almonds, basil and lemon zest.
3
Place a dry, clean pan over medium heat. Heat it and fry the flaked almonds for 2-3 minutes until a light golden color. In a bowl, combine the leaves of mint and basil, chilled almonds, garlic and lemon zest. Grind in pulsed mode. Pour olive oil in a little, achieve a smooth mass of the desired consistency. Season the pesto with salt and lemon juice.
4
Dessert Peppermint Pesto
Dessert pesto is usually placed in cream ice cream, added to dough or light fruit salads supplemented with it.
5
Fry the almond flakes as described above. In a small saucepan, mix sugar and water, bring to a boil. Cook until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool for about 30 minutes.
6
In a food processor, chop mint with almonds. With the engine running, add chilled sugar syrup and honey, mix until the pesto has a pasty consistency. You may need to add a little warm boiled water to get what you want. Store dessert pesto in the refrigerator for no longer than 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Useful advice
Pine nuts in pesto can be replaced not only with almonds, but also with walnuts or pistachios. They also need to be dried in a dry frying pan. Naturally, the taste accents in the sauce from the replacement of nuts are somewhat shifted.
Mint can be replaced with lemon balm, but keep in mind that it has a pronounced lemon flavor.