Fennel Pesto: What To Do With All Those Fennel Fronds I Told You To Save

Tell me true: is anything better than pesto? Ok, you know, maybe a few things, but the list is short. While we normally think of pesto being made of basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, and olive oil, the basic pesto equation is anything green + garlic + hard cheese. Nuts give it a little more flavor, and a nice texture, but you can make it without, if you're so inclined (some recipes for the nut-allergic use soy beans in place of nuts). We made this with our leftover fennel fronds and walnuts, and it was awesome. 

Here's what you need:

1 cup packed fennel fronds (those are the dill-looking parts)

1/2 onion, diced

2 cups sliced mushrooms (we like baby bella mushrooms here)

1/4 cup walnuts

3/4 cup parmesan or other hard cheese of your choice

8 oz pasta of your choice (we used farfalle)

3/4 cup cream or half 'n' half (optional)

1/4 cup white wine (optional)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon butter or oil

Pepper to taste

A food processor, blender, or mortar and pestle 

If you have a food processor, put the fronds, garlic, parmesan, walnuts, and olive oil in it and grind it up to your desired pesto consistency. Some people like it to be totally smooth, but I prefer a bit of chunkiness to it, so we processed it until the bits were about the size of couscous:

If you don't have a food processor, get one. I keed, I keed. Put the garlic and walnuts in the mortar and pestle and grind on that shit until it's all a uniform consistency. Then add the fennel and grind some more. After it's where you want it, put it in a bowl and mix in the cheese and olive oil.

Now your pesto is done. If you prefer a plain pesto/pasta, you need only toss this with the cooked pasta, and maybe a little more oil or water to help it spread. But why leave well enough alone? If you want to maximize your Pesto Potential™, come with me...

Start a pot of water to boil for your pasta. In the meantime, heat your butter or oil in a skillet, and start sauteing those mushrooms and onions with the wine and a few grinds of pepper.

Once everything is softened (5-10 minutes), add your pesto and stir it all up, until it looks like this:

Now add the cream and cook until thickened, stirring constantly, about 3-5 minutes

Toss with the pasta, and serve with extra walnuts and parmesan if you like.

Damn, girl, look what you made!