Post # 13 – A Call for Pine Nut recipes.
I acquired about a cup of pine nuts the other day.
Please help me with some recipes that include
pine nuts as ingredients.
Many thanks, Don
Post # 13 – A Call for Pine Nut recipes.
I acquired about a cup of pine nuts the other day.
Please help me with some recipes that include
pine nuts as ingredients.
Many thanks, Don
March 14, 2010 at 8:18 am |
Well, I love pine nuts as a snack, but if you don’t, pesto is probably your best bet. Here’s a good recipe for it, and you can TOTALLY IGNORE the part where you blanch the basil and then put it into ice water:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Basil-Pesto-13234
And here’s a how-to with pictures:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Pesto_2/
March 14, 2010 at 8:20 am |
Oh, and pesto freezes really well. Some people say you should freeze it before putting the cheese in, but I’ve tried it both ways and it’s been fine. I freeze quarter-cup quantities of it in freezer bags, but I know people who freeze it in an ice cube tray and then put the cubes into a freezer bag.
March 17, 2010 at 4:18 am |
Thanks a lot for your comments and links, Serene.
Pesto is something I’ll try to master soon. It sounds excellent and very useful.
March 17, 2010 at 8:31 pm |
I really like this super-easy recipe for sauteed spinach with golden raisins and pine nuts. It works with other kinds of greens (chard, for instance) and other dried fruits (regular raisins, cranberries, cherries, etc.), too!
March 17, 2010 at 8:31 pm |
The nice thing about pesto is that you can’t go far wrong; even if it doesn’t come out as intended it’s still good on pasta. Or bread. Or almost anything, really.
March 17, 2010 at 8:50 pm |
I like to lightly toast pine nuts & toss a small handful over pretty much any pasta dish.
Here is my favorite recipe for pesto, though:
2 cups basil, washed thoroughly, squeezed dry and packed tightly into the measuring cup
1 cup real parmesan cheese, not the icky pre-grated sawdusty stuff
3/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
1/2 cup olive oil
3 large garlic cloves
Put it all in the food processor and process until smooth.
I spread the leftover pesto in a shallow baking pan, covered it with plastic (lay the plastic directly on top of the pesto to keep it from darkening) and put it in the freezer. Once it is frozen solid, cut it into squares and store in a plastic bag in the freezer for single-serving portions and for adding flavor to pasta sauce.
Pesto Cream Sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
8 tablespoons pesto sauce
4 tablespoons grated parmesan
Boil broth. Let cook until about 1/2 volume. Stir in cream and again cook down until about 1/2 volume (you’ll end up with about 3/4 cup liquid). Whisk in parmesan cheese and pesto sauce.
For my taste this makes enough sauce for about a half pound of angel hair pasta.
Yum.
March 17, 2010 at 10:34 pm |
My friend makes a lovely spread for crackers or bread: a layer of cream cheese, a layer of pesto, a layer of sun-dried tomatos, and topped with pine nuts. It’s VERY tasty…and two ways to use pine nuts!
March 17, 2010 at 11:26 pm |
Onions or shallots, garlic, browned in olive oil. Add pine nuts, toss a bit, & then sultanas or currants. Combine with browned ground meat and/or brown rice or pasta. And toss with fresh spinach until the spinach is all wilty.
March 18, 2010 at 12:21 am |
I’m seconding the pesto suggestion (especially because fresh basil will be in the offing in the next few months, and you can make pesto short of adding the cheese, then freeze, then thaw and add cheese when ready to use, a little taste of summer in the winter!).
Also, I love them toasted in salads – green salads, pasta salads, chicken salad. They’re a nice flavor and crunch hit in a lot of places.
March 18, 2010 at 12:22 am |
And I note I am one of the people who freezes pesto BC – Before Cheese
.
March 18, 2010 at 12:25 am |
I like them toasted on any salad (like croutons, only healthier).
They also go pretty well in meatloaf.
March 18, 2010 at 2:55 pm |
Pesto is pretty easy if you have a food processor!
Another super-easy recipe, assuming you like asparagus:
Steam 8-10 asparagus spears, tough bottoms cut off.
While the asparagus is steaming, toast 2 tablespoons of pine nuts.
Melt one tablespoon of butter and combine with one table spoon of balsamic vinegar.
Put the asparagus on a plate, drizzle butter-vinegar mixture over it, and then sprinkle pine nuts -either whole, or coarsely chopped- onto the asparagus.
March 19, 2010 at 3:37 am |
Another vote for pesto. And when you run out of pine nuts, it works with pretty much anything. We sometimes do walnuts, and for those with nut allergies , sunflower seeds.