pesto ideas

well, tis the season and i'm going to be cranking pesto out like a mother from no other, and i'm looking for ideas 
 
 
i have the following left over after i made hot sauces, dried, etc... 
 
purple cayenne
red cayenne
some fatalli 
some choco hab
7 pot SR orange
7 pot SR chocolate 
choco reaper
cubanelle 
assorted green peppers (nothing ripe, bells, sweet, marconi)
peter orange 
halabenero 
big black mamma 
and some kind of cheery pepper.  good flavor some heat
also have some Enjoya peppers that i bought from the store because i wanted seeds. 
 
 
herbs i have 
 
French taragon
rosemary
curry
oregano 
lemon thyme
english thyme
basil (of course)
flat leaf parsley 
garlic chives 
 
 
 
 
another thing ive heard people use are peanuts, i normally use walnuts or if i'm feeling extra spicey i'll go and splurge for pine nuts  thoughts on that?  
 
 
i know i'm going to make some cayenne for sure, and maybe even a cubanelle / green pepper blend, but i got a bit of basil (around 6 plants) so i'm going to experiment and freeze pucks   need to before the dreaded cold ohio weather starts to take its toll on us.  

 

[dragonsfire]

Tahini is nice also. Walnuts work real well to add flavour.
All my basil got wiped out so going to try and grow again inside. I like Feta Cheese, Rosemary, Basil combo, add ground dried tomatoes

 

[austin87]

Peanuts would go well with a Thai basil pesto. I've had some great red pesto made with sun-dried tomato. Don't forget lemon juice, which is in all of the best pesto I have had.
 
Otherwise, go crazy! I would focus on a ratio and make the rest up as you go. I go by look/feel and adjust taste as needed, but I found this online as a basic place to start:
 
2 cups herbs
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup dry hard cheese (Pecorino far better than Parmesan in my opinion)
1/3 cup nuts
tons of garlic
juice of half lemon
salt and pepper to taste
 

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Don't forget Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano!
 
And good olive oil!
 
Do you have any pickled peppers? I like pickled for pesto, the tang and texture work nice, also, removes some of the fresh "bite" and is more uniform when you whirl it all together.
 
Be sure to toast the pine nuts so they are not soapy. You could also add your heat here, dusting them in the toasting process.
 
Also Thai basil would be a nice change. Strong though so mix with sweet basil maybe 1:3.
 
Just my opinions.

 

[gangaskan]

Peanuts would go well with a Thai basil pesto. I've had some great red pesto made with sun-dried tomato. Don't forget lemon juice, which is in all of the best pesto I have had.
 
Otherwise, go crazy! I would focus on a ratio and make the rest up as you go. I go by look/feel and adjust taste as needed, but I found this online as a basic place to start:
 
2 cups herbs
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup dry hard cheese (Pecorino far better than Parmesan in my opinion)
1/3 cup nuts
tons of garlic
juice of half lemon
salt and pepper to taste
 

 
 
oooh i never used lemon juice.  just hard cheese (parm, and romano), garlic, evoo, nuts, and basil.   i'll have to give that a whirl.