Cooking With Pesto Sauce

When it comes to quick and easy recipes, nothing compares to pesto sauce. This Italian sauce— traditionally served with pasta—requires few ingredients, can be made in a matter of minutes and stored for the future, and is versatile in preparing a variety of dishes.

A traditional pesto has five simple ingredients: Basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and Pecorino cheese. What’s more, the preparation does not involve any fancy methods or techniques: Simply add all the ingredients (except the cheese) in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, and then garnish with salt and pepper, to taste. If you’re preparing pesto pasta, simply add the sauce and the cheese to your noodles and you have a delicious dish to eat.

The best part is that pesto sauce can be made in advance and stored for months. Simply store the sauce in an air-tight container and freeze for up to 3 months. When you decide to use the sauce, just defrost, add the cheese, and serve.

If you think making pesto in bulk would make meals repetitive and boring, think again! Here are ten ways you can add pesto into your meal, besides using it in your pasta:

Pizza: Use pesto sauce in lieu of traditional tomato-based sauce for home made pizza. Add slices of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese for a delicious, but unique, pizza.

Panini: Add a little flair to your panini by generously spreading pesto to the bread. Add turkey/chicken, tomato and mozzarella before you press the panini.

Omelette: For a little extra flavor, add pesto sauce, goat cheese and your favorite veggies to your omelette.

Crostini: Garnish a crostini with pesto, roasted red peppers and fontina cheese.

Grilled Chicken: Serve grilled chicken with a dollop of pesto sauce.

Roasted Tomatoes: Need a quick, easy appetizer? Slice roasted tomatoes and layer with pesto and mozzarella. Bake until the tomato is roasted and cheese is melted.

Lasagna: Add a twist to traditional lasagna by layering lasagna noodles with pesto, mozzarella, ricotta and sliced cherry tomatoes. Garnish with mozzarella and bake.

Butter: Add room temperature butter to pesto to make pesto butter. Use this butter to prepare bread, marinade meats, or however you see fit.

Corn: Use pesto to add flavor to corn on the cob. Add a thin layer of the sauce after grilling corn.

Dressing: Pesto sauce can be used as a dressing for salad or a sauce in which to dip grilled shrimp or lamb chops.