the Older Bolder Life Sauce Tuesday: Spicy Cilantro Pesto

Here in the Southern tier of the country, the forecast is looking like a genuine turn to spring this week, and count us among those who couldn’t be happier grilling season officially opens now. (We grill year round here in North Texas, which really isn’t brag worthy as the weather is so mild, though we did year round in Montana for years, and that’s another story…).

Nifty grilled proteins call for interesting sauces to drizzle over; last week I posted this House Chimichurri, and like many of you, we have a pile of great guacamole recipes like this Quick Columbian Guacamole. And how about this Columbian Aji Sauce?

Another one we’ve been playing with over the years is this Spicy Cilantro Pesto; our favorite flavors here come with using toasted cashews or pepitas, with a little onion, lime, and a serrano thrown in.

Pestos are a great addition to your table; they’re not only tasty but packed with nutritious, vibrant ingredients, and endlessly customizable to suit your palate and mood of the day.

Try this one with cotija if you can get your hands on some, and don’t forget to add good salt at the end to taste.

2 cups packed cilantro, leaves and tender stems
1/4 cup toasted cashews, pine nuts, pepitas, walnuts, or almonds
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/3 to 2/3 cup oil (avocado or extra virgin olive oil) to desired consistency
1/2 cup grated good parmesan cheese or cotija
Good salt to taste

Optional
2-4 tbsp chopped red onion
1/4 to 1 seeded and chopped serrano chile
1/2 to 1 tsp fresh lime zest

Into your trusty food processor go the cilantro and nuts of choice, pulse several times to finely chop, then add the garlic, onion and pepper if using, and pulse to combine.

At this point, we like to add the lime juice and then dribble in the oil with the processor running until smooth, then pulse in the cheese and lime zest if using. Importantly, salt to taste and stir well.

Enjoy.