Thai…americano Pesto

Thai…americano Pesto

I used to make some stellar Thai basil pesto variations when I was living in in Thailand. But Thai basil is hard to find here in the US unless you’re lucky enough to have an Asian grocery store near by.

By all means use Thai basil if it is available for the recipe that follows. There are two varieties to look for. Thai sweet basil has pointed bright green aromatic leaves with a hint of anise and an after note e of cinnamon. Thai holly basil leaves are a deep green or sometimes reddish purple leaves with an earthy peppery flavor. Both variegates are distinctly more assertive in flavor than broad leaf Italian basil.

If Thai basil is not available, just adapt and diversify, which is how this recipe evolved. The secret to Thai food’s popularity is a cleaver one. Most Thai dishes include all five elements of taste, those being salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami (savory) flavors in one dish which is pure genius. It’s no wonder why Thai food is so loved. With that concept in mind I used readily available broad leaf Italian basil along with some hot jalapenos from south of the border, some Thai fish sauce, lime juice, cashews (abundant in Thailand) and you end up with a Thai- americano pesto!

This is a pesto you will want to add to your repertoire. A dollop added to almost any savory dish will have it bursting with all the flavors of a Thai- americano mash up.

Pictured is Thai..americano Peato served on toasted bread strips atop a salad of baby arugula, pickled beets and hard cooked eggs, and shaved aged provolone cheese.

Thai…americano   Pesto                  Makes about 1 ½ cups

• 3 cups fresh torn broad leaf Italian basil leaves, or Thai basil if available
• 2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 3 to 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 or 2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and diced
• ½ cup chopped cashews
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt + more to taste
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce +more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ cup olive oil
• cold water as needed for thinning

Place the basil leaves, garlic, 3 tablespoons lime juice, jalapeno chiles, cashews, ¾ teaspoon of salt, fish sauce, and sugar in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are broken down into a coarse paste.

Scrape down the sides of the work bowl. Turn the machine on and pour the olive oil into the feed tube and continue to run the machine until all the oil is incorporated.

Stop the machine and taste the pesto and add additional salt and fish sauce to taste. If the pesto needs thinning, turn the machine on and add 1 tablespoon of cold water at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

Transfer the pesto to a nonreactive container, cover, and refrigerate.

Serving

The pesto can be served chilled or at room temperature with endless applications.

Listed are additional pesto recipes that I have posted over the years to to expand your pesto repertoire for freezing for later use during the winter months.

Fresh Sweet Italian Basil Pesto (see here)

Pesto alla Siciliana & Pesto Trapanese (see here)

Spinach Pesto with Pancetta (see here)

Pomegranate Glazed Pork Loin with Pistachio Pesto (see here)

Pesto Diverso (see here)