Cilantro and Walnut Pesto


Many people have a misconception that "Pesto" can only be made with Basil. But actually, the name pesto comes from the same Latin root of "pestle," which means a sauce made by crushing a few key ingredients together. Basil, parmesan and pine nuts have been primary for the basic italian Basil Pesto, but lately, parsely and cilantro have become favored alternatives to the traditional recipe. I used cilantro, sweet-corn, parmesan cheese and walnuts for my Cilantro-Walnut Pesto, and added some jalapenos for the spicy kick. This pesto has a smooth texture, and serves to be a great dipping sauce with chips or any other finger food.

Ingredients
1 and 1/2 cup fresh cilantro - washed and chopped
1/4 cup sweet corn kernels
1/3 cup walnuts
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
6-8 tbsp olive oil
2-3 jalapeno rings (or serrano chillies, adjust to spice level)
1 tbsp lime juice
salt - to taste

Method
Take half of the cilantro and the sweet corn kernels and grind in a mixer with 2 tbsp oil. When properly blended, add the remaining ingredients and pulse. With the food processor running, slowly keep adding olive oil as you blend to form a smooth paste. It should resemble a smooth dipping sauce as shown in the picture.

You can refriferate this Cilantro-Walnut pesto and preserve for upto a week. For longer use, freeze it and store. Thaw to room temperature before using. Serve with your favorite veggie platters of finger food! We enjoyed ours with some gluten-free savoury pancakes!

I'm sending this to Anh who's hosting this week's edition of Kalyn's WHB event.

Similar Recipes:
Cilantro and Cucumber Dip
Roasted Tomato & Peanut Sauce


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24 comments :

Suganya said...

So right. Spinach, sun-dried tomato and mixed herb pesto are all equally good too.

Anonymous said...

that looks brlliant! love the addition of corn..nice twist:)

-annie

Unknown said...

looks healthy and fresh..Guess it goes well with pasta too

Cham said...

Like the twist with Corn , should have balanced the spice kick!

Uma said...

mmm. looks delicious. nice green color.

Vani said...

Can't see the picture, Mansi but I love the addition of jalapenos to the pesto!

kamala said...

Mansi cant see the picture.A healthy one

Mansi said...

I'm glad you'll liked it! Sugs - totally agree with your suggestions!:)

I have replaced the pic with a new one..I hope ppl can see the photo now...at least I can:)

Anonymous said...

brilliant twist on a classic! and I loved the spinach pancakes too!:)

~sharon

Creativecook said...

This sounds really neat, I like the idea of adding the peppers for the kick.

Arundathi said...

Love pesto! :) Thanks for the recipe!

Anonymous said...

I was one who thought pesto was from basil..until recently when I read a book..Love the addition of jalapenos for the kick!

EC said...

Looks very creamy and loved the colour...quite healthy too

Mallika said...

Never tried making this one, Sacla makes a great ready bottled version.

Miri said...

I used to think so too till recently...but this recipe is really interesting with the sweet corn and pepper! will be trying it soon!

Kajal@aapplemint said...

arre yaar ... pesto is what we gujjus call leeli(green) chutney ! maybe be corriander / mint / basil/ or sage !

Mansi said...

wow, nice to see so many pesto-lovers!:) kaajal - I couldn't have been able to explain pesto any better! your words are perfect (at least for gujjus:))

Rosie said...

Oh this looks brilliant and so healthy too :)

Rosie x

test it comm said...

Cilantro, corn and jalapeno pesto sounds really tasty.

Miri said...

I made this pesto with a few variations yesterday and mixed it in with some pasta for a delciious meal! Thanks!

Coffee and Vanilla said...

What a great idea, recently I had some left over coriander pesto and we were using it to spread on bread... just like this, and eat... it was delicious... I can imagine that this pesto taste even better! Thank you for sharing.

Margot

tigerfish said...

Can I have some of this in my pasta?

Came from WHB round up.

Kalyn Denny said...

Love the idea of pesto with cilantro, yum!

Usha said...

Loved the idea,I can't wait to try this one !