new pesto

For far too long, I have been discarding fennel fronds.  You know, those pretty dill-like leaves attached to the stalks of a funnel bulb.  Sure, I’d pick off a few fronds and use to garnish a dish, but then I’d toss out the remaining fronds still attached to the tough and inedible stalks. What a shame! I decided to see if the fronds could be made into a pesto, and sure enough, delicious! Use this vibrant pesto in a pasta, as a dip with crudités, or drizzled on a fennel salad.  Salad recipe to follow tomorrow. If the fennel you purchase does not have a full 2 cups of fronds, cut the recipe in half and use only 1 cup of fronds.

Fennel Frond Pesto

1 fennel bulb (choose the bulb with the most fronds)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4  cup olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Pick off fennel fronds, you should have about 2 cups (loose, not packed down). Discard the stalks and save the fennel bulb for a salad, pasta, or slice and dip into the pesto with other assorted crudités.

Place the fronds in a food processor. Add the garlic, pine nuts, lemon zest, salt, and pepper and process until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides of the processor bowl.

With the machine running, add the olive oil and Parmesan through the feed tube and continue to process until the mixture is well combined.

Makes about 1/2 cup