LCBO Food & Drink Summer 2021

HERBAL REMEDIES

MIXED HERB PESTO pasta WITH PEAS & FETA

Making pesto is an easy answer to using up loads of garden herbs. In this “use what you’ve got” pesto, you can choose any combination of basil, mint or parsley to make up the bulk of herbs necessary for the recipe. Having a jar of it in your fridge is a gift that keeps on giving: Mix it into salads, stir into soups or smear onto sandwiches. In this recipe, pesto is used the classic way—to coat pasta in a delicious herby sauce, which is then tossed with sweet peas and topped with soft feta cheese. ⁄ cup (125 mL) walnuts 8 cups (2 L) loosely packed fresh herbs, such as mint, basil and parsley 1 ⁄ cups (375 mL) plus 1 tbsp (15 mL) extra virgin olive oil, divided 2 cloves garlic, smashed 1 tsp (5 mL) salt 2 tsp (10 mL) lemon zest 500 g dry pasta, like penne, rigatoni or fusilli 1 cup (250 mL) fresh green peas (frozen are okay, too) ⁄ cup (125 mL) Bulgarian or Macedonian feta 2 Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and toast, shaking the pan halfway through cooking time, until golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes. 3 Boil a large pot of water. Pre- pare a strainer and an ice bath in a large bowl. 4 Blanch herbs by dropping into boiling water and cooking until they turn bright green, about 30 seconds. Immediately strain and drop into ice bath. Strain again. Gently dry herbs with a dish towel. 1 Preheat oven to 400 F (204 C).

7 Strain pasta and peas, and place in a large bowl. Toss with remaining 1 tbsp (15 mL) oil to prevent sticking. Let cool. 8 Stir in pesto. Top with crum- bled feta and serve.

5 Place herbs, toasted walnuts, 1 ⁄ cups (375 mL) oil and garlic into a blender. Pulse until finely ground and smooth, about 1 min- ute. Transfer to a bowl or jar. Stir in salt and lemon zest. 6 Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. At the last minute of cooking time, add in peas.

WHAT TO SERVE

Citrus and green herbal tones will highlight those ingredients in this dish. The wine’s palate-cleansing acidity counters the richness of the pesto and cheese. Trius Sauvignon Blanc VQA LCBO 221804, $15.95

Serves 6

+ Use cilantro, aru- gula, lovage and/or kale to replace any of the herbs in the pesto.

+ Add 1 tbsp (15 mL) pesto to garnish a bowl of chicken or vegetable soup. + Add 1 tbsp (15 mL) pesto to ⁄ cup (60 mL) mayonnaise to create a herbed condiment for sandwiches. + Make a salad dressing by replacing half the olive oil with pesto. + Add ⁄ cup (60 mL) grated Parmesan to add some salty richness to the pesto.

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SUMMER 2021 FOOD & DRINK