Recipes of the Week - August 10th

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe (http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001329fresh_basil_pesto.php)

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts

3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.

Pesto Pasta Salad Recipe http://elise.com/recipes/archives/001996pesto_pasta_salad.php

4 cups uncooked spiral pasta (use rice pasta for wheat-free version)

1 cup fresh basil pesto(see recipe above)

2 Tbsp chopped green olives, or olive tapenade

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 cup frozen peas, defrosted (or fresh if you can get them)

12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved

Several fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 Cook pasta according to instructions on the package. Make sure the water is salted (at least a half teaspoon per quart). Remove pasta from heat and strain when pasta is cooked, but still firm (al dente).

2 Put pasta in a big bowl. Mix in fresh basil pesto, green olives, and pine nuts. Gently mix in cherry tomatoes, peas, fresh basil leaves and olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill or serve at room temperature.

Fried String Beans-Fagiolini Fritti(http://italianfood.about.com/od/stringbeansandpeas/r/blr1029.htm)

10 ounces string beans, tips snapped off

Salt

Flour

2 eggs, beaten

Breadcrumbs

Oil for frying

** The Sweet And Sour Sauce **

3/4 cup vinegar

3/4 cup water

5 amaretti

2 ounces day old bread, crusts stripped and discarded, and the crumb crumbled

1 tablespoon sugar

Salt & pepper

A pinch of powdered cinnamon

2 ounces minced candied citron peel

2 ounces raisins

2 ounces shredded almonds

Preparation:

To make the string beans:

Blanch the beans in lightly salted water, drain them, and pat them dry. Dredge them in the flour, dip them in the egg, dredge them in bread crumbs, and fry them in hot oil until golden, before draining them on absorbent paper.

Variations - you can also use other vegetables, for example celery sticks and zucchini sliced lengthwise, blanching them too and then flouring them.

To make the Sweet and Sour Sauce:

Bring the water and vinegar to a boil and add the amaretti and the bread crumb to it, together with the cinnamon. Season with salt and pepper and let the mixture cook, adding more water as needed to keep it from drying out. After about 10 minutes add the peel, raisins, and almonds. Continue cooking over a low flame until the sauce is fairly dense and well amalgamated, and at this point taste it to see if more sugar or vinegar is necessary. Serve it either hot or cold, with fried foods or hard boiled eggs.

Yield: 4-6 servings fried string beans.

Zucchini Recipes @ http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/collections/healthy_zucchini_recipes.html