We grow a lot of herbs and I will harvest and dry them throughout the season, but one of the ways I preserve the “fresh” taste of herbs is by preparing a number of pesto’s to freeze for later use. Cilantro, Mint, Basil and Parsley are the 4 that I always have on hand. They take only a few minutes to prepare and come in handy for swirling into soups soups,  adding to salad dressings, tossing into pasta’s, accompanying seafood or meat dishes and the list goes on.  One of my favorites is combining parsley with pistachios. 

Shelling Pistachio Nuts

In this recipe I used dry-roasted and salted pistachios but obviously you can use unsalted and adjust the salt addition to taste. 

Parsley and Pistachio Nut Pesto:

• 1 large bunch parsley leaves or 3 Cups packed
• 3/4 C good olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp salt-or to taste
• generous 1/2 C shelled dry-roasted and salted pistachios

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until evenly blended but still able to see tiny bits of nuts.

Parsley and Pistachio Pesto

If I was to serve this as a pasta pesto dish I incorporate fresh grated cheese and 1-2 Tbls softened butter to it just before serving.  All the nuts and dried fruits I use for cooking, baking or just plain eating are from Sunnyland Farms in Georgia, they are one of my favorite sources for high quality products.