On a recent Saturday night, my partner and I turned out a menu of home made Chinese deem sum dumplings that required a jungle of fresh ingredients. Our friends were delighted, the evening was lovely and every dish in my oversize San Francisco studio kitchen was dirtied. After spending Sunday cleaning up the aftermath, I had a ton of fresh citrus, herbs and other ingredients still hanging around. What better way to kick off Monday night dinner than with a little creativity and a food processor?
Spicy Minty Citrusy PestoBunch fresh mint leaves
Handful fresh chives
Handful fresh basil
2 limes
1 knob fresh ginger
5 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 jalapeno
Salt and pepper to taste
When I got home from work and gym that Monday, I was ready for food in a jiffy. Surrounded by bunches of left over mint, basil and chives I immediately got excited about pulling out the food processor to whip up a quick weeknight pesto. I gave them a rough chop and threw them into the food processor with one nub of chopped fresh ginger, one chopped jalapeno, five chopped garlic cloves, a tablespoon of seasoned rice vinegar and the juice of two limes. Whizz, whizz.....tasted, then added some sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to finish off the bright green sauce.
The minty pesto was a fast way to put an exotic spin on the baked chicken that I usually make on Mondays to eat all week. To use up more ingredients and continue the fresh flavors, I covered the chicken with chopped fresh ginger, garlic and big slices of lemon peel before baking at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
