Almond Thyme Pesto

This is such a great little sauce. The sweetness of almonds, the distinctive woodsy, herbaceous flavors and aromas of thyme and the freshness of Italian parsley combine to make a delightful sauce for pasta, fish or chicken. It takes a little patience to pull the parsley from the stems, but it’s worth it! Please make sure to use very good olive oil to make any pesto! Even with the other flavors, the sauce will suffer from off olive oil.

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Almond Thyme Pesto

Author: keriawilliams

Ingredients

Servings

• ¹⁄₃ cup unsalted, roasted almonds (if you can, get them from your local farmer's market to make sure they're super fresh!)
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (a few of the very tender stems are ok, but pull the leaves off the woodier stems sections)
• 2 cloves garlic
• ¹⁄₄ cup parmesan cheese
• 1 cup loosely packed flat leaf (Italian) parsley (leaves only)
• ¹⁄₂ cup very good quality olive oil
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• ¹⁄₂ tsp freshly ground pepper
• a tiny touch of ground nutmeg (optional)

Instructions

1. You can make this recipe using the traditional method of grinding it with a mortar and pestle, but I went ahead and used my tiny Cuisinart, which made preparation a breeze. Add the almonds to the bowl of the machine and pulse until the almonds are ground to about the consistency of polenta. Add the thyme leaves, garlic, parmesan cheese, parsley, salt and pepper and pulse until the mixture is finely ground.

   

1. Add the olive oil a little at a time until you have the consistency you want--it should be smooth paste that still has some discernible "crumbs" in it. I ended up using about 1/2 a cup, but use your own judgment.

   

1. A tiny bit of ground nutmeg adds a bit of warmth to the mixture, but is entirely optional. Enjoy tossed over pasta or as a condiment for fish or chicken.