Spring is here and summer is coming ... and I'm the first one run'n.
OK... old country song lyrics! Regardless, Pesto season is here! Be it kale, dandelion or basil pesto there is likely to be some green in your garden to make this tasty treat with!
There will be no need for that Starbucks Pesto Panini once you make this fresh at home. The flavor will be so much better along with the healthy ingredients. Not to mention it makes the perfect tea time treat.
So let's get to the grub!
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Oh, how I love pesto! It’s so bright and fresh, yet cheesy and nutty. It’s like the perfect savory sauce. These tasty tea sandwiches can be made with either leftover roast turkey or left over roasted chicken.
As I mentioned above you can use the greens that you have on hand or even those you have preserved. From collards, chard, mustard greens, dandelion greens, kale, radish greens and of course the traditional basil. This recipe ensures that you will have pesto yumminess all year around.
Jill Winger makes a fabulous pesto and has given us permission to reprint that recipe here from her book, The Prairie Homestead Cookbook that just won the Reading the West Award for Cooking!
Her recipe really makes this sandwich something to look forward too.
First we need to make the fabulous pesto! If you don't already have The Prairie Homestead Cookbook you can grab it here. It's worth every penny and then some. It's a great basic cookbook from learning to cook from scratch and then it has great advanced recipes as well. It must be pretty good to beat out the Pioneer Woman in the Reading the West Book awards!
Homestead Greens Pesto
Prep time: 10 min.
Main Ingredients
2 cups greens of choice
1/2 cup nuts (sunflower seeds, pine nuts, walnuts or cashews)
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Recipe Steps
- Combine the greens, nuts, cheese, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely minced.
- Drizzle the olive oil while the machine is running and process until the mixture breaks down into a paste.
- Seasons to state with salt and pepper.
This particular recipe makes two sandwiches, perfect for that tea for two or easily doubled, quadrupled for a crowd. This "better-than-Starbucks' Turkey Pesto sandwich is sure to fill the belly and nourish along the way.
Better Than Starbucks Turkey Pesto Sandwich
Main Ingredients
4 slices of bread of choice
1/4 cup The Prairie Homestead Greens Pesto Sauce (page 254, The Prairie Homestead Cookbook)
4 slices of tomato 2-4 black or green olives for garnish
4 - 6 slices roasted turkey or chicken
Recipe Steps
- Toast the bread slices lightly in a toaster or in the oven on broil at the lowest setting until golden brown. Let slices cool a bit until they are easily handled.
- On two of the slices of bread slather on about 1/8 cup of Jill’s homemade Green’s Pesto Sauce on each piece.
- Making sure to cover the whole slice evenly. Don’t make the sauce too thick or it will become messy and lose it’s dainty tea-time sandwich feeling.
- Place 2-3 slices of roasted turkey or chicken on the side with the Green’s Pesto Sauce. Next, add the slices of tomato.
- Then top with the second slice of bread on each of the sandwiches.
- Place a couple of olives or other garnish on a toothpick or garnishing stick and sink into the middle of the sandwich to help hold this rustic tea time sandwich together as well as give it a bit more tea time flare.
Well that made me hungry so it's time for lunch! I hope that you enjoy this tasty tea time sandwich as much as we do. If you loved this recipe grab more fabulous tea time recipes here on the blog.
What type of green will you use to make your pesto? Let me know in the comments below!
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