One thing about all of this making-lots-of-new-recipes business is that you end up with a lot of leftover ingredients in your fridge. And sometimes they end up going to waste. And that is annoying. But I have a new tactic. I go to Google or to some cooking website like Epicurious or Smitten Kitchen (new reference - thanks Susan!), and I type in the ingredient I'm looking to use. Voila! I get a bunch of recipes.
Today's secret ingredient was cilantro. (I feel like I'm on Iron Chef.) I came across a cilantro pesto recipe on allrecipes.com. Perfect!
I made the cilantro pesto with two changes. It called for 1/2 cup of olive oil. I used 1/4 cup. Secondly, I replaced the white wine vinegar with lemon juice. I left it in the fridge for a day to "let the flavors come together," tossed it with some whole wheat pasta, and wow! The cayenne gives it a real kick. It is VERY cilantro-y. For me that's a good thing, but you should definitely not make this if you don't love cilantro.
I'm looking forward to trying this recipe again with more modifications. A friend made it yesterday, and she used curry instead of cayenne. She also didn't simmer it and said it was still terrific on hot pasta.
So when a recipe calls for two tablespoons of chopped cilantro, don't worry. You can just throw the rest of it in the food processor with some basic ingredients and get a delicious sauce.
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