Feeding my family fresh and healthy meals is very important to me, and I love to cook those meals from scratch. Unfortunately, the logistics of life and time management don’t always make that possible.
One of my favourite tools for plan ahead meals is the humble, rarely talked about ice cube tray. I’ve shared before how I use it to speed up my Indian cooking by freezing tadka cubes; another cubed favourite at our place is cilantro pesto.
My kids are not picky about the herbs that go into pesto, so I often make a cilantro almond pesto (which is much more cost effective than basil) to serve up with our go-to gluten free pasta by Catelli. Whenever I make a batch, I always double it and freeze some for busy evenings.
This is the easiest recipe ever. Once you’ve got the technique down you can play with the recipes. Our other favourites are parsley and walnut, and a mixed herb pesto with cashews.
Cilantro Pesto Cubes
Yield: 12-14 cubes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup peeled almonds
2 cups cilantro washed and roughly chopped
1/3 cup cheese (I use Parmesan or Pepper Jack)
3 garlic cloves peeled
1 1/2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flake (optional)
Method:
Start by toasting the almonds in a dry pan over low heat to bring out their flavour. 
Grind the almonds in your chopper or food processor and hten add the rest of the ingredients. Blend until the pesto has a consistency you like. This is kind of preference thing, I like to be able to get some of the almonds in my mouth so I keep it a little on the coarser side. Just be sure you don’t leave it so coarse it won’t stick to the pasta.
Lightly spray your ice cube trays with some non stick spray. Fill the ice cube trays and freeze for about two hours. Pop the cubes out and store in a zip seal freezer bag.
I’ve kept these in my fridge for two months no problem. They would probably last longer, but ours always get used up by then!
Leave a Reply