Food & Wine: Pesto

Thursday Sep 17th, 2009 42 Views Vine to Wine

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and today is food and wine pairing day. Recently, I have been making and freezing pesto to the point of no return. Today, I thought we could discuss some ways in which to include pesto in your meals and of course, the wines that go with it.

As the summer is drawing to a close, I have been harvesting the heck out of the beautiful bushes of basil I grew and at times saying aloud what were you thinking growing all of this basil? Making and freezing Pesto has been one solution. Then there is also nothing like fresh basil atop those great tomatoes we are also harvesting. Making pesto is fairly easy basically olive oil, garlic, pine nuts or walnuts all ground together. To that, you can add other herbs -even mint or arugula- and Parmesan and or Romano cheeses. Of course pasta with pesto is a given, any wine you like seems to work red or dry white. Pesto use to make salad dressing is super with just about any salad and a nice crisp Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc. I also like to toss new potatoes in pesto, it is a fabulous side dish to grilled beef and a bottle of Washington Merlot. Blending a bit of pesto with a cheese such as ricotta or goat cheese makes a simple spread for grilled bread or crackers. Again very versatile accompanied by light reds or crisp white wines. Whatever you do don’t let your basil go to waste you will appreciate the flavors and smells from summer in your winter kitchen. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today’s Vine to Wine.