Sea Bass with Pistachio-Pesto Crust

Another quick and easy fish dish. The cook time is for thick fillets of fish. I made this recipe using a thin fillet of sole and it only needed about 5 minutes to cook.

One year ago: Cod Baked with Tahini Sauce
Two years ago: Crisped Chicken with Chimichurri and Avocado
Three years ago: Spiced Pearsauce Cake
Four years ago: Potato Soup

Sea Bass with Pistachio-Pesto Crust (from Radically Simple)

Ingredients
4 thick sea bass fillets, 7 ounces each
1/2 cup basil pesto
1/2 cup finely ground pistachios
1 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 450F. Season fish with salt and pepper and arrange on baking sheet.
2. Spread each fillet with 2 tbsp pesto to cover completely.
3. Distribute pistachios equally among fillets, patting to form a crust.
4. Roast for 16 minutes, until fish is firm (less if you have a thin fillet).
5. Grate lemon zest on fish and serve.

Pasta with Garlic Scapes Pesto, Sugar Snap Peas, and Ricotta

I couldn't resist the first of this season's garlic scapes at Jean Talon. The pesto in this dish is excellent and with some added prosciutto (optional) and ricotta, it goes from good to fantastic.

Pasta with Garlic Scapes Pesto, Sugar Snap Peas, and Ricotta (from Cook This Now)

Ingredients
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3/4 cup cilantro or basil leaves
1/2 cup thinly sliced garlic scapes
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 cup olive oil
450g cavatelli or other pasta
1 tbsp butter
113g sugar snap peas, trimmed and sliced 1/4" thick
prosciutto, slivered
pepper
fresh ricotta (get the good stuff)

1. Over medium heat, toast nuts in a small, dry skillet until they start to smell nutty and turn golden, 3 minutes. Pour onto plate to cool.
2. In a food processor or blender, combine herbs, garlic scapes, cheese, and salt and process until finely chopped. Add nuts and oil and process until smooth.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and pasta and cook until al dente.
4. Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet and add peas and pinch of salt. Saute until crisp tender, 3 minutes.
5. Turn off heat on peas and stir in prosciutto.
6. Drain pasta and toss with pesto. Top with peas and sprinkle with black pepper. Dollop spoonfuls on ricotta on top when you serve it.

Fennel Frond Pesto

Our CSA box gave us a baby fennel bulb this week that was more fennel frond than fennel bulb. While I have plenty of recipes that use the bulb, I was at a loss for what to do with all of those fronds! Luckily, a quick review of chowhound for suggestions mentioned pesto. The flavour was surprisingly light. It may not be my favourite pesto ever, but it's a great way to use up fennel fronds.

One year ago: Pomegranate and Fennel Salsa Quinoa (I guess it's fennel season!)
Two years ago: Red Velvet Cupcakes

Fennel Frond Pesto (from Melissa Clark)

Ingredients
1 small fennel bulb with lots of bushy fronds
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons pine nuts or sliced or slivered almonds
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. Chop off fennel fronds and coarsely chop enough to measure 1 cup .
2. Put the chopped fronds in a food processor or blender. Add the garlic, nuts, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a generous pinch of pepper to the food processor and process until finely chopped.
3. Add 4 tablespoons of the oil and cheese continue to process until the mixture looks like pesto. Season with more salt to taste.

Penne with Chicken and Pesto

To be fair, I didn't make this recipe, August did. But, I kind of loved it and don't want to lose it, so here it goes. I know he played around with the proportions, definitely less chicken and probably more pesto for the amount of cream, so I'm going to recommend that you do what seems right for you, but definitely don't pass on the idea!

Penne with Chicken and Pesto (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients
454g penne pasta
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into thin strips (at least half this!)
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/4 cups heavy cream (half?)
1/4 cup pesto (double?)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute chicken and garlic until chicken is almost cooked.
3. Reduce heat and stir in salt, pepper, cream, pesto and Parmesan cheese. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside.
4. Stir in cooked pasta.