Mint Pesto is a twist to the classic Italian sauce which is made with basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan.
There are many kinds of pestos using different herbs, cheeses and nuts but my favourite is the one I have made with mint and of course almonds and halloumi which are used in Cyprus to suit the tastes and flavours of my country.
During Lent or for a vegan pesto, leave out the cheese and you can have the most delicious vegan pasta dishes with combined with other vegetables such as mushrooms, zucchini etc.
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. I have participated at this event last year as well and I shall continue to support it because every woman must be aware of this silent killer.
Michelle of Bleeding Espresso and Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy are sponsoring an O Foods Contest.
Please see below for the details. Please come and visit here in the next few days, when I shall post some of the recipes I have made featuring my favourite PestO.
CONTEST RULES
O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and for the second year in a row, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are hosting the O Foods Contest to raise awareness of this important health issue.
There are TWO WAYS to take part in the O Foods Contest:ONE: Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato); include this entire text box in the post; and send your post url along with a photo (100 x 100) to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.PRIZES for recipe posts:
- 1st: Signed copy of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who is currently battling ovarian cancer, inspired this event, and will be choosing her favorite recipe for this prize;
- 2nd: Signed copy of Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home by Mario Batali (winner chosen by Sara);
- 3rd: Signed copy of Vino Italiano: The Regional Italian Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich (winner chosen by Michelle).
ORTWO: If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word and send your post url to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.Awareness posts PRIZE:
- One winner chosen at random will receive a Teal Toes tote bag filled with ovarian cancer awareness goodies that you can spread around amongst your friends and family.
———From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:
- Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
- The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose, but include bloating, pelvic and/or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly; and urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency).
- There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
- In spite of this, patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
- When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.
And remember, you can also always donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at our page through FirstGiving!
Please help spread the word about ovarian cancer.Together we can make enough noise to kill this silent killer.
Mint pesto is my favourite pesto, maybe because we love mint so much in Cyprus and we use it in a lot of our recipes.
Whenever I want to make a healthy pasta dish, I add some pesto in it, about 1 tablespoon pesto for each serving. I use it in other recipes as well, so I will be linking back to this post quite often.
I have made this pesto over and over again with some other minor changes and I avoid adding the cheese in for many reasons, one being is that when we fast we don’t eat any dairy products.
Here is the classic recipe for Basil Pesto:
Basil pesto
Ingredients:
- 3 cups large basil leaves, loosely packed
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2/3 cup pine nuts
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 – 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano
Directions:
- Put all the pesto ingredients, except the olive oil and cheese, in a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are minced.
- Start adding the olive oil gradually. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor, if necessary.
- Continue adding olive oil until the mixture reaches the consistency of a thick sauce.
- Add the cheese and mix.
Update: 1st August, 2017:
This year my peppermint plant is thriving, so I made the same pesto several times, using fresh peppermint.
The picture was taken after I trimmed it to make the pesto.
I’ve made the pesto with only peppermint but also combined it with mint and basil leaves. Any combination is just amazing!
This time, instead of almonds, I used walnuts and instead of halloumi I used graviera. However, you can add any nuts or cheese you like.
A similar recipe for Mint Pesto is included in my cookbook Mint, Cinnamon & Blossom Water, Flavours of Cyprus, Kopiaste!
Mint PestO for Ovarian Cancer
Mint Pesto is a twist to the classic Italian sauce which is made with basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and parmesan. There are many kinds of pestos using different herbs, cheeses and nuts but my favourite is the one I have made with mint and of course almonds and halloumi which are used in Cyprus to suit the tastes and flavours of my country.
Ingredients
- 2 cups mint (only the leaves)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- ½ cup almonds or walnuts
- ½ cup grated halloumi
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp wine vinegar
Instructions
- Wash the mint leaves and dry.
- Put them together with the, garlic, salt, pepper, vinegar and pulse, adding the olive oil and nuts gradually until it reaches the consistency of a thick sauce.
- Mix in the grated cheese.
Notes
It can be preserved in the refrigerator for a week. If you deep freeze it, you can have it for a few months.
When deep freezing, do not add the cheese and divide it into ½ cup portions. Defrost a couple of hours before using it and mix in some cheese.
Nutrition Information
Yield 1 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 1246Total Fat 121gSaturated Fat 21gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 96gCholesterol 47mgSodium 1016mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 8gSugar 4gProtein 28g
PIN FOR LATER
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,
brii
Saturday 19th of June 2010
I love this!! can't wait until it stops raining to make this pesto. great idea, great event. thank you. baciussss My recent post something new in pink - PInk Saturday
Albert
Monday 5th of October 2009
I love to eat...I think that one is so delicious...I could ask my wife to cook PestO.
J.C.
Wednesday 30th of September 2009
Cooking for a cause is great!!!I love cooking. I will try that one,PestO...yummy!!!!
Ben
Friday 25th of September 2009
Those pictures reminded me so much of rural Mexico, the prickly pears, the cacti, the animals roaming freely, is there a better way to spend a vacation? I'll try to participate in the event, because good causes are always the more fun :)
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie
Tuesday 22nd of September 2009
What a terrific pesto with mint & almonds, excellent!