Aroma Cucina

5 Nut Pesto

Sometimes an idea is so good, you wonder why didn’t someone think of it sooner? The other night, our friends John and Libby handed us a jar of pesto that they had made that day. John did it old skool style: in a mortar, by hand.   Now, I’ve always been a food processor girl, but the taste and texture difference was significantly better than blender style. Damn. Now that I know this, you can’t go back…
What made this pesto so intriguing was that they used 5 different kinds of nuts. Now, I haven’t seen them today to ask, but I’m guessing the nuts were: pistachio, pine, hazlenut, almond and walnut. There was a bit of chili in the pesto as well, which gave it a brighter flavor, and this in turn, enhanced the sweetness of the pistachios.
I poached some shrimp in olive oil, added it to the pesto, and we had ourselves one outstanding dinner last night.
Grazie mille John and Libby!!

Old Favorite

It's sort of like going closet shopping. You know when you go to the back of the closet and dig out some forgotten gem? 
We were hungry. There wasn't much around in the kitchen. What to make for lunch?
I had eggs, a bit of swiss chard and a leek.
Sformata! I had forgotten all about sformatas! They are savory baked custardy Italian treats.
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Take some eggs, break them into a bowl. Add a small fist full of cheese. A small shot of cream, salt, pepper and whisk all together.
Saute some  swiss chard and leeks.  Blanche the swiss chard first..it needs to be cooked twice to tame some of the bitterness.
Let the vegetables cool down a bit, and then whisk together with the egg mixture. Ladle into individual muffin tins.  I use a silpat form...very easy and not much will ever stick to them.
Bake in the oven in a bain marie (water bath) until firm, about 25-30 minutes.
I garnished these with some crispy parsley leaves, and a shot of balsamic vinegar.
Enjoy!

My Recipes

These are some of the recipes that I've created this summer. They are meant as a guideline to creating a similar dish in your kitchen.  All of us have access to slightly different ingredients, some of us like lots of garlic and spice, some don't. That's the beauty of cooking at home, you get to cook things exactly as you like them. So let your imagination run wild, let inspiration come in through the open window and enjoy.
Let me know what works, and what doesn't.  It's always more fun when there are lots of people in the kitchen.