Pesto feeling a little blah lately? There is no end to what you can do with this delicious mix of basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and parmesan cheese — serve it up as a sauce with pasta, for example, dress your salad with it, or top your pizza — but if you've been getting tired of the same old, same old, it might be time to give your pesto a spicy little kick. What can you add to your pesto to up the spice factor? Why, a bit of jalapeño would not go amiss when placed in with the other ingredients before processing (whether in a blender or food processor or ). Its veggie-forward flavor meshes well with the herbaceous basil and buttery taste of pine nuts, while the spiciness adds another dimension of flavor to the nutty, grassy sauce.
You can judge for yourself how much jalapeño you use, and indeed, how much of the pith — or ribs — you want to include, as that is the source of the vegetable's heat (and not the seeds, as many think). Pulse or pound a few times to get the jalapeño constituted within the pesto, give it a taste, and add more — you can throw in the whole thing, seeds and all — if you want to up the fiery factor. Other spice-forward add-ins Of course, not everyone has jalapeños when the mood strikes to whip up this (where's the ?).
So if you want to spare yourself a trip to the grocery store, there's a good chance you'll have this spicy ingredient on hand: Red pepper flakes. Add anywhere from 1⁄8 to 1⁄4 teaspoon or more (depending on how much pes.
