Roasted Cashew and Celery Leaf Pesto

Pest0: the versatile sauce/dip/condiment

This roasted cashew and celery leaf pesto has come in handy this week – it’s been spread on sandwiches with roast chicken, tossed into rigatoni with peas and broccoli, and tonight, the last little bit at the bottom of the jar is dressing a potato salad.

I like to take a little jar of it with crudités for lunch on the go.

I think roasting the cashews gives the pesto a stronger depth of flavour than using raw cashews. You might like to try other nuts as well – roasted almonds or walnuts, for example.

I’ve also included lemon balm leaves from our herb garden and a bit more olive oil than I usually do to make it less of a dip and more of a sauce. I think the amount of olive you add is a personal preference.

The kid who doesn’t like cashews (or lemon balm, for that matter) loves this pesto, the kid who rarely tries new things has added it to everything, and the third kid made no complaints whatsoever. Victory all around.

Our herb garden: lemon balm and mint

When I returned from summer holidays, our herb garden had turned into a forest, with the cos lettuces as tall as shrubs, the parsley going to seed, and both the lemon balm  and mint setting down roots outside their designated planter boxes, threatening to take over the entire herb garden. It did look pretty, though, with the mint and lemon balm leaves cascading over the edge.

Lemon balm, (Melissa officinalis) is a member of the mint family, with a similar shaped leaf. It has a lovely delicate floral mint flavour. It has an extensive root system, and grows very well. It’s not as invasive as mint, and it’s an easier plant to control.

It is considered to be a calming herb. It is native to southern-central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Iran, and Central Asia.

The herb has been used medicinally since the Middle Ages to reduce stress and anxiety, as well as promote sleep, improve appetite, and ease pain and discomfort from indigestion.

Even before the Middle Ages, lemon balm was steeped in wine to lift the spirits, help heal wounds, and treat venomous insect bites and stings.

Today, lemon balm is often combined with other calming, soothing herbs, such as valerian, chamomile, and hops, to promote relaxation. It is also used in creams to treat cold sores.

Making use of lemon balm leaves

Lemon balm has a wide variety of uses in cooking. If you have some leftover after making the roasted cashew and celery leaf pesto, here are some suggestions:

The fresh leaves can be blended into a green juice with lemon juice and spinach.

Dried leaves can be used in herbal teas.

Lemon balm butter, with a little paper, is delicious smeared over corn on the cob.

Use it in marinades or sauces to accompany fish or chicken. It is also nice stirred through sautéed shellfish.

Lemon balm is also delicious when paired with apples in a pie or a crumble.

Add a few chopped leaves and a spoonful of honey to Greek yoghurt.

You might like to try this salad of cracked wheat and herbs with nectarines.  It has a lovely tangy lemony flavour.

Making use of celery leaves

I trimmed all the leaves from this week’s bunch of celery to use in the roasted cashew and celery leaf pesto, and added a generous handful of lemon balm.

Using celery leaves in this way is a great way to use up a part of the celery that is often thrown out.

Alternatively, you can freeze the celery leaves, together with other vegetable scraps such as onion skins and carrot tips for a homemade stock. Homemade stock tastes much better than the store-bought variety, and it’s cheaper, too.

Best wishes,

Amanda

PS: If you’ve tried this roasted cashew and celery leaf pesto or any other recipe from At Amanda’s Table, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below.

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