Print

Wild Ramp & Sunflower Seed Pesto

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Ingredients

  • Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
  • Ramps – 3 cups, coarsely chopped
  • Sunflower seeds – 1/4 cup
  • Parmesan cheese – 1/2 cup, grated
  • Lemon juice – 1/2 teaspoon, freshly squeezed
  • Sea salt – 1/8 teaspoon
  • Pepper – 8 turns of the pepper mill
  • Extra virgin olive oil – 1/4 cup

Instructions

  1. In a small saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium-low. Add the ramps and saute them for about 2 minutes. They will immediately wilt and reduce to about 1/3 of their original volume (or 1 cup). Transfer the ramps to a food processor or blender and set it aside while you toast the sunflower seeds.
  2. In the same pan, toast the sunflower seeds for about 2 minutes over medium heat, or until they begin to brown and the kitchen fills with a nutty aroma.
  3. Add the sunflower seeds, parmesan, lemon juice, salt and pepper to the food processor. Pulse a few time to mince and mix the ingredients. Slowly add the 1/4 cup of olive oil, pulsing continuously, until the pesto is well blended and has a thick and creamy consistency.
  4. How to Freeze Pesto:
  5. Freezing pesto is easy and means you always have a quick dinner or added seasoning on hand. There are two ways I like to freeze pesto.
  6. The first is to fill a plastic tupperware with pesto, leaving about half an inch of “headspace”, the space between the top of the container and the surface of the contents – in this case pesto. Close it with a lid and pop it in the freezer. This way makes it difficult to take out portions, since you have to defrost the entire container to soften the pesto and remove what you need. You can then pop it back into the freezer.
  7. The second is to fill an ice tray with pesto so that you have pesto cubes. Store the ice tray in two Ziplock freezer bags to prevent the pesto from getting freezer burn. You can pop out portion-sized cubes of pesto when you need it!

Notes

Allegens: dairy