Pesto is
good, but all that basil can be hard to find or expensive.
This pesto is delicious, a bit different, and it uses
ingredients that are easier to find and cheaper. Nearly
every supermarket carries cilantro, and pumkin seeds are usually
in little clear containers in the produce department. You
can substitute Romano for cotija cheese, and you can use a
number of different peppers. After we make this, we divide
it into thirds. One third we use right then and
there. The other two thirds we save for later.
| ¾ cup | hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) |
| 3 bunches | cilantro, trim the thickest part of the stems off |
| 1 cup | grated cotija cheese (Romano cheese works just as well if you can’t find cotija) |
| 12 cloves | garlic |
| 1 | serrano pepper, seeded and roughly chopped (or ½ a jalapeno pepper, seeded, or a Thai Bird Chili, seeded) |
| 1½ tsp | salt |
| 11 tbl (5½ oz) | olive oil |
Put the pumpkin seeds in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the cilantro, cheese, garlic, serrano pepper, salt, and olive oil and process until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.
Scoop the pesto out of the bowl and divide it into 3 equal portions. Cook one pound of your favorite pasta according to the package directions, drain it, and stir in a one third portion of the pesto and serve.
Divide the remaining pesto between two separate zip top bags. Seal the bags and put them in the freezer. The pesto will freeze solid and it saves for months. Each portion is enough for 1 pound of pasta, or you can serve it over chicken, in a dip, etc.