The 10th edition of our Monthly Mystery Munchies had both Gen and I partying with Pesto as the main ingredient to work with. And party we did! Gen did a little more with not one, but TWO pesto dishes: Spicy Pesto Chicken Balls and Olive Pesto Pea Salad.
Not only that, she used her own homegrown basil! Here is Gen’s take of her pesto creations:
In South Africa we’re highly enthusiastic about braais (barbecues), and the cold pea salad is ideal as a side dish on a blistering hot day. The next recipe, chicken balls with spicy pesto, can be served warm, accompanied by a veggie dish. I wanted to do two different pestos, and in our home, we do love our olives! I really enjoy cooking with chicken mince, which can be quite bland but the pesto perks it up beautifully! Both of these recipes are incredibly easy, require minimal effort and oh-so-healthy. That’s a hard ‘yes’ from me!
Amazing indeed, Gen! From such a simple ingredient with homegrown basil, she once again created magic with Pesto. Well done, my dear partner in munchies! These are ones for the repertoire.
Before you click away out of this page, make sure you pop over at Gen’s for her Pesto recipe and leave her some comments. Tell her I sent you. Better yet, if you do happen to give either of our recipes a go, be sure to pop by us again and let us know how it turned out. I, for one, would definitely want to know.
#10! We are on Monthly Mystery Munchies #10 and for the first time since Gen and I started this challenge, we already have a theme for #11 for March. This is getting super exciting!
So what’s up for this month? We decided that we shall do a Party with Pesto theme for our Monthly Mystery Munchies this month, and Gen, over at Eat, Play Clove was just as enthusiastic about the challenge.
Pesto can be very versatile. There’s something about pesto that keeps me coming back for more. You won’t look back once you know pesto – it’s that flavour of basil, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil all together that make pesto so distinctly flavourful. I have used it in my pie and chicken dishes before. The results have never disappointed me.
It is one of the easiest ways to add flavour to any dishes, and most commonly used with spaghetti. And, because that is the simplest form of its use, it is also, in my opinion, a little under-stated. Surely there has got to be a few, if not more other ways besides using it with mostly spaghetti, pie and chicken! Just the thought of pesto makes me just want to party with pesto, which became our theme.
Without over-thinking, I decided on something really simple in the form of a wrap. I could have made my own pesto if I had some fresh basil leaves, but I didn’t. I used the store-bought ones instead and they taste just as good. But, instead of the usual basil-based pesto, I used one that has got wild rockets in it.
Have a look at these babies:
This is how we do itThis is how else we played with itThis is how we roll itThis is how we fancied it up
Drooling yet? They really are good, I swear. I wish I had remembered to take a picture of the folded ones before I ate them all.
And I used lots and lots of pesto which I generously smeared on the tortillas. I made one batch with thin slices of turkey meat, roll it them up tightly, cut them up such that they look like pinwheels and serve them cold.
The other batch, I made without meat, sprinkled a mixture of shredded cheese instead and fold them over like you would a quesadilla. I popped them in the oven and served them hot with all the cheeses melting inside.
Can you tell that I had a ball making these?
Pesto & Turkey Tortilla Pesto
2016-01-11 00:15:16
Serves 10
Easy to make party food and one that makes for a healthy breakfast
About 20 pieces of sliced turkey ham, or deli meat
1 pack of whole wheat tortilla
Instructions
In a bowl, mix rocket pesto, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese and pesto well until the mixture is smooth
Take one piece of tortilla and smear a generous amount of the pesto mixture onto it, just like you would spread jam on a bread
Top turkey ham on top of it
Roll it
Repeat till all the pesto and/or turkey ham is all used up
Cut the rolls into smaller pieces if you wish. Serve cold. Otherwise, it is ready to eat just as it is.
A variation
Alternatively, you can also vary it without using any meat
After smearing pesto all over the tortilla, top it up with shredded cheese
Fold into half and cut into quarters
Before serving, put them in the oven for a few minutes and serve
Notes
To ensure that the tortilla keeps its shape, wrap it in an aluminium foil and put in in the fridge for about half an hour before cutting it
Grubbs n Critters https://grubbsncritters.com/
So, hey! I had partied with pesto! The best part: Not only did I party with this versatile ingredient, I can, technically serve them for a party and make them in 10 minutes flat. 20 minutes if there had been more tortillas to roll to serve my entire apartment building.
Curious as to what else you can do with pesto? Let’s hope over at Gen’s Pesto Party and see what she’s up to!
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Monthly Mystery Munchies features every first Friday of the month in collaboration with Gen, Author of Eat, Play, Clove. Next month will be Gen’s turn to choose a theme and this time, the challenge has been unleashed. Stay tuned.
The Coke lover in me…and I’d better be specific here that by Coke, I mean Coca-Cola, has been re-ignited with their new Taste The Feeling global campaign that has just launched all over the world.
The are six new ads and each has a different theme song. My favourite ad is the one on “Brotherly Love”:
The campaign made its debut in Thailand last Tuesday. For the thematic ads, they come with an original song composition that was created for Coca-Cola’s Taste the Feeling campaign. It features a newcomer called Conrad Sewell and Coca-Cola had worked with him and Music Dealers to write and produce the song.
The soundtrack to “Anthem” got me groovin’. The more I listened to the song, the more I like it.
It’s a great song and with a chorus that goes, “No one can stop, me when I taste the feeling. Nothing could ever bring me, down. No one can stop, me when I taste the feeling. Nothing could ever bring, me down.”, it feels inspiring.
