Yahoo Lifestyle Make Your Best Pesto Ever With This Simple Ingredient Swap
Switch things up when you make your next batch of pesto.
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There’s nothing more refreshingly classic than homemade pesto. The traditional form of pesto, which originated in Genoa, Italy, consists of fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. It makes for a delicious, simple topping or sauce that is easy to make at home—whether you use it as a freshening base for pizza or fold into your al dente pasta as a sauce (with additional pasta water for the pesto to stick to the starch, of course!).
Since its creation in the 16th century, pesto has undergone many ingredient adaptations. Cashews or walnuts instead of pine nuts, additional lemon or lime juice, substituting herbs and greens like parsley or arugula—the list goes on and on. After years of making traditional pesto, I found myself also on the hunt for a new way to elevate the sauce. Turns out, there actually is one simple ingredient that makes pesto even more refreshing than you ever thought possible: mint.
What Actually Is Mint?
f you don’t have fresh basil on hand—maybe it’s out of season, unavailable to you, or your basil plant died again (like mine did)— then mint is a wonderfully tasty alternative. The herb offers a subtly sweet palate which results in a cooling effect due to its high percentage of menthol (a natural chemical found in mint plants). This cooling effect leaves a heightened flavor—think about how peppermint tastes, and why we use that flavoring in so many types of breath enhancers.
Why You Should Swap Basil for Mint
With pesto already being such a popular summer ingredient—and mint for warm weather cocktails—it’ll be easy to make the swap from traditional basil. The herb will add a refreshing aroma and an extra bit of sweetness to your pesto, whereas regular basil tends to lean toward the savory side. Because mint presents a stronger piquancy than basil, use your best judgment on how much to mix in your pesto.
We recommend using a blend of herbs—such as mint with parsley, spinach, or arugula—if you feel that the cooling taste will overpower the other ingredients. If you aren’t ready to say goodbye to basil in your pesto just yet, then you can also opt for a blend of mint and basil. Typically, you’d blend 1½ to 2 cups of mint and 1 cup of the herb of your choosing. If you forgo other herbs all together, then around 4 cups of mint is ideal. From there, you can follow your usual pesto recipe with the mint replacement.
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How To Use Mint Pesto
Just like your typical basil pesto, you can utilize mint pesto for pizzas, lasagna, vegetables, pasta, fish, flatbread, and more. An extremely underrated technique is to use mint pesto as a garnish in soups, with examples being vegetable soup or minestrone. If you’re looking for more ways to incorporate mint into your culinary creations, check out some of our incredibly refreshing recipes:
Read the original article on All Recipes.
