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chive artichoke pesto, chives, easy recipes, edible flowers, herb garden, nourishing herbs, pesto, quick meals
There are many presumptions regarding herbs—chives in particular.
Many see them as a garnish, and push them aside.
Yay whoa, let me share the reasons why this little herb belongs in your belly.
First off chives are:
Low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium
High in dietary fiber, vitamin A, C, K, B6, Riboflavin, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper, Manganese, Thiamine, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, Phosphorus, and Zinc!
So there!
Ready for a tasty, nutritious, signature recipe for chive artichoke pesto? OK!
When I bought my first patch of land back in 2001,
one of the first plants chosen for the herb garden was chives!
humble chives harvested and rinsed and ready for a spin.
edible flowers first thing in the spring!
cut rinsed and spun chives into 2″ lengths–easier for the processor to handle
drain and rinse canned water-packed artichokes
Rinse and spin equal amounts of curly parsley and pack the bowl of your processor with equal portions of chives and parsley. Top with one cup of raw walnuts, cup of drained artichokes, 1 rounded teaspoon kosher salt, juice from 1/2 a fresh lemon, and 6 glugs of virgin olive oil. Process until smooth, scraping bowl a couple of times during processing. FYI, a glug is a free pour out of a spouted olive oil bottle, counting up to six as you pour. My food processor bowl is 7 cup size, so make allowances if yours is larger…
finished pesto divvied up into 8 OZ deli containers, ready for chill down, then freezer for up to six months. By the way one 8 OZ container dresses one pound of pasta beautifully–just add a touch of hot pasta water, 2 T sweet butter and pepper of choice.
You may be saying, “where’s the cheese?” Most of my pestos are sold, therefore
I do not add cheese now as it does not freeze well and many of my patrons are lactose intolerant.
Cheese may be added when preparing pasta or when using as a spread in a sandwich.
When using this pesto for the base of pizza crust, no cheese is necessary.
after processing all the herbs, if you have a bit of pesto, say 3/4 cup, left over in the processor, add a peeled, seeded ripe avocado, spin then use as a dip! Deelish!
Have I convinced you to grow/eat chives?
As I frequently say, “there is more to life than basil pesto!”
Check out the YouTube video from Moss Mountain Farm!
Copyright © 2013 by Diane LaSauce All Rights Reserved
You have convinced me to eat more chives. Absolutely delicious!
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Super Myra! It is a very popular item at my farmer’s market. Such an easy care herb too. Now we need to convince Allen to make it on air…;-)
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I just love the flowers! Chives seem to complement so many dishes and look great just scattered on the top, but equally they just look awesome growing their fluffy flowers in the garden!
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Thank you Anna. I totally agree. Diane
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Chives are always the first herb that turns green after the snow melts in my Maine garden.
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Hope that you will try my pesto recipe…chives are early birds here too in spring. Love the edible blossoms too.
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A nice reminder that Mother Nature never fails to forget the seasons! I love the green pop too! Let me know what you think of the pesto recipe, Karen.
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You’ve done it again. Looks amazing.
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informative…here in India I need to check the availability locally.
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Why not grow your own? Both parsley and chives are easy!
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in cities most of us live in apartment..so in case we have some space then there is a possibility. Else I have to go to my hometown where my parents live to see them grow.
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They can grow in small pots on a sunny window too!
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Yum! I’m going to give this a try…I have plenty of chives and parsley to use up. Thanks so much for posting! 🙂
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