Winter Pestos

In December, I thought the snow looked pretty and it was good to have extra time indoors to catch up on all the projects I'd put off during the warm months.

Forget that. By the end of January, I'm sketching garden plans, completing seed trades, and wondering why I don't live further South.

There are still weeks, okay -- months, to go before the frost-free date here in New York City. One of the things that keeps me sane from now until the violets start blooming is cooking with what I harvested during the past gardening season.

One of the simplest and best winter recipes is Pesto. There are many possibilities other than the basil pesto most people are familiar with. To me, freshly made basil pesto is one of the tastes that makes summer worth waiting for (yes, I know you can buy bunches of it at the supermarket even in winter, but do you really want to pay exorbitant prices for a limp, out of season, barely flavored bunch of leaves?). In winter, I use the rich flavors of home-dried herbs to come up with new pesto combinations: sage and garlic, oregano with savory and thyme, perhaps a spicy version with a bit of hot pepper thrown in.

Pesto is wonderful with pasta, of course, but don't stop there. Swirl a bit of pesto into a bowl of soup before serving. Use it to baste chicken or lamb in the oven. Spread some in a sandwich with cheese and sundried tomatoes. Blend a spoonful of pesto with some cream cheese or cottage cheese and spread it on crackers. The aroma will remind you of all the warm, wonderful tastes of summer.

Here are two basic recipes for Winter Pesto:

In a blender, combine 1 cup fresh parsley or chickweed (one of the few wild vegetables that can be foraged even in winter) with 2 tablespoons dried, savory herb (try basil, oregano, sage, savory, chervil, thyme, or a combination). Add 1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts and 1 clove garlic. Blend. Add 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese. Add more oil if too thick, more cheese or nuts if too thin. Add freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Combine one cup cooked frozen greens, two tablespoons dried savory herbs (see above), 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup walnuts or pine nuts, 1/4 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese, 2 cloves garlic, and a pinch of ground black pepper. Add cheese or nuts if to runny, more olive oil if too chunky.

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