Mexican Pesto

The other day, while searching for something new to make, I came across a recipe for oregano pesto. That sounded great. But as luck would have it, I couldn’t find oregano at that time. So instead, I bought a whole bunch of thyme. At first, I thought I would make a thyme pesto, but it needed more ummph. So I kept playing with it and tweaking it until I came up with a very good and tasty version of a Mexican pesto.

I added a little regular pesto as a base to start with, then started mixing and matching from there. I just put everything into the food processor and started blending.

Mexican Pesto

2-3 TBSP pesto

1-2 jalapenos, seeded

2 TBSP cotija cheese

1 TBSP garlic

1/3 cup roasted, salted pepita seeds

1/2-3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup cilantro

3/4 cup fresh thyme, with as much of the stems removed as you can

2 TBSP lemon balsamic vinegar or lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

dash of cayenne pepper

After my new pesto was created, I cooked up some shrimp and some kielbasa sausage, tossed in my leftover pico de gallo sauce and a few tiny tomatoes.

I heated up the pesto just long enough to take the chill off. I added it all to some rice, and voila! A new dish with a newly created Mexican pesto was born. It was delicious too. I love pesto any which way I can get it, but I really liked it with just a little kick added to it as well.

I am always playing with my food, and playing around in my kitchen, creating new ideas and variations to old classics. 🙂 As I always say, it’s OK to play with your food. Have a great day, and make everyday great. And by all means, play with your food. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.