Fresh Chive Pesto

Chives grow in our yard in abundance. Both garlic chives and regular ones. Meshed with almonds, lemon juice and just a little more garlic we get this vegan pesto. Pretty and Pale green, it is perfect on anything from pasta to toast. If you want it spicy you can even through in a jalapeno chili.

There is so much happening, just not enough hours to share.

I wish there are more waking hours to the night.  but, alas possibly just one more before my virtual carriage drives me away to the land of sleep.

The kids call this Chive guacamole. Given how much my daughter loves her guacamole, the name is a high complement. It is best made with early and fresh early spring chives. It will freeze well. I do make a batch towards the end of spring to freeze it.  This pesto is vegan and is simpler and lighter than its more traditional counterparts.

 

The condiment gets it name from the Genoese word pesta which means to pound or crush. I think calling this condiment a pesto still works. In fact, just the other day in one of my classes we were discussing how certain generic terms get incorrectly classified. Take curry for instance, while this is really a generic word for a fresh gravy in our Indian culinary lexicon. Today people end up associating it with commercial curry powder. And worse yet assuming all Indian sauces actually contain this non-descript spice mix.

It actually freezes well and retains its pretty pale green color after even a week in the refrigerator and yes, it happily uses up a generous amount of chives. The nice amount of almonds and olive oil in the mix also makes this a healthy fat rich indulgence without the need to add any cheese to the mix.

The pesto is perfect tossed with pasta, great over toast and of course magical for grilling.