We’ve officially completed the first leg of our Mediterranean excursion. During the first month of A Taste of the Mediterranean, bloggers from around the world submitted their own spins on the classic pesto Genovese.  The entries were creative and unique, all while keeping true to the concept of what an authentic pesto should be.  Choosing one pesto from the entire bunch was not easy (but it was an enjoyable process). Here you’ll find a list of all the pesto variations that were submitted.  

The winner for this month calls herself a “newbie food blogger,” but she is certainly no newbie in the kitchen.  Erinn, a fourth generation Cali girl and blogger for Sunday Dish, shared her spin on the recipe by making a Basil, Sun Dried Tomato & Hazelnut Pesto.  It was out of this world!  For some reason I had never thought to use hazelnuts in pesto, but the flavor combination was spot on.  The nutty undertone from the toasted hazelnuts complemented the other ingredients, and presented a sophisticated take on the usual pine nuts or walnuts.  The tiny bit of lemon juice that she added was just enough to heighten the freshness of all the ingredients and tie all the flavors together.  I can continue to tease you with luscious descriptions of her recipe, but the best description you’ll get is by whipping up a batch yourself.  Erinn also went on to show how versatile pesto can be by making three different dishes centered around her ultimate sauce: Fusilli Lunghi Bucati Con Pesto, Grilled Chicken Marinated with Pesto and Pesto Crostini.

Congratulations again, Erinn!!

Cheers, 
Tony

Click on the stamp to find out more information about this event and how to enter to win this month’s prizes!

event: A Taste of the Mediterranean

deadline: July 15, 2008

recipe: Hummus

ATOM: A Taste of the Mediterranean

If it weren’t for the whole making-a-living part of life, I would spend all my days traveling the world without even giving it a second thought.  Unfortunately, making a living seems to be one of the cruel prerequisites to my globe-trotting dreams; so, until then, I travel when I get the chance and often resort to cooking to fulfill the rest of my curiosity.

This past month I thought of an idea that would be awesome to do with all the fellow food bloggers out there.  Let’s travel around the Mediterranean!  I know!  Why didn’t I think of this before?  My type of travel doesn’t require any sort of luggage or even a passport, just a hearty appetite for Med deliciousness.  We’ll taste it all; from the Portuguese influences present in Spanish cuisine to the earthy undertones unique in North African fare. 

The project has been appropriately titled, A Taste of the Mediterranean.  Each month I will feature a different culinary region from the Mediterranean (French, Greek, Italian, Middle Eastern, North African and Spanish) along with an appropriate regional recipe.  This is where the traveling comes in.  The challenge will be to blog about your own spin on that particular recipe (or technique) for a chance to win that month’s grand prize.

Each challenge will also come with a unique stamp that all participants can use to decorate their blogs with!   If you need a smaller version of the stamp for your blog, click here.  Participate each month and collect them all!

Pesto with my Italian Double

What better place is there to start our Mediterranean excursion than in Italy?  The challenge for this month is based on the classic Pesto Genovese!  The sky’s the limit on the type of pesto you choose to make, so long as it follows the basic nut-cheese-garlic-oil combo.  All entries must be submitted (i.e. posted) by June 15th in order to be eligible to win that month’s prize. 

In the mean time, I leave you with a Pesto video I made with my Italian Double, Paolo.  I look forward to reading all the amazing pesto ideas everyone has to share!

Cheers,

Tony

All the rules & regs are posted here.

These are a couple of my favorite pestos: 

• Spinach Walnut Pesto (aka Pasta alla Zarina)
• Avocado Pesto

Living in the godforsaken Ithaca tundra, I realized that despite how bad the weather is, there are always things to look forward to. In the spring, for instance, it’s regaining the sensation in my fingertips and the opening day at the farmer’s market. Last Saturday, the latter of the two was realized. The weather is still too cold for my liking; but a 40-degree high is certainly appreciated after such a brutal winter.
Luckily, the rest of America is right on schedule with the commencement of spring and so I was excited to find ripe avocados calling my name at the store last week. After poking all of them to pick the ripest out of the bunch (don’t judge, I know you do it too) I bought 4; I used the first one to shoot the Avocado Milkshake Video, and the rest to experiment on an Avocado Pesto I dreamt up recently. Believe me, just like the milkshake, it’s a lot tastier than it sounds.

The ingredients are similar to a regular pesto, but with minor alterations. The bulk of the greenness now comes from the avocado while the basil is merely a supporting actor in the whole production (I didn’t have the heart to exclude it). Then I decided to add lemon juice for zing and milk for a creamy touch.
No, the sauce will not curdle because the natural fats in the avocado help keep everything together (clever, huh?).

After processing everything together you’ll have a super thick sauce. No panicking is necessary as you’re only a couple steps away from pesto heaven at this point. The sauce will later be brought to consistency with pasta water, so just remember to reserve a cup before draining it.

One of my favorite components of this dish is the vibrant forest-green color that the spinach takes on after sautéing. Of course, I keep it Italian by throwing in some toasted pine nuts. And if you don’t dig spinach, you can substitute arugula for a more peppery flavor that works out just fine (especially if you’re a big fan of arugula, as I am).

Once the pasta is cooked, reserve a cup of the cooking water and toss the pasta with the sautéed spinach and sauce. You’ll notice that the sauce is still very thick and this is completely normal. Incorporate the pasta water a little at a time until you reach the perfect consistency you’re looking for.

Festive green, nutty and full of fragrance; Pasta alla Zarina is my spin on the classic pesto Genovese. This dish is fresh, modern and was inspired by my fashionista friend, Zarina (and her love of spinach).

Zarina and I met at an internship one summer and were practically joined at the hip. Between our Shakira-tuned car rides to work and our late-night mint chocolate chip sessions, there wasn’t much we didn’t do together. This pasta dish is her absolute favorite (or so she tells me) and the least I could do was name it after her… and blog about it.

The tiny pearls of slightly melted mozzarella cheese cling to the penne and envelop your taste buds with creamy goodness. There is a science to the mozzarella, though: if you add it too soon, you risk the mozzarella melting completely into the sauce (no good). And, if you add the mozzarella straight from the fridge, you’ll just have hard cubes of cheese in your pasta (also, no good). The trick is to cut up the mozzarella first and add it last, after it’s reached room temperature. The rest is up to you!