How to Zhuzh Store Bought Pesto
I love pesto — especially in the summer months but I cannot tell you the last time I’ve made pesto from scratch. I will say, if I’m using pesto in a cold preparation, lets say a cold pesto pasta salad, then yes, I will make it from scratch. However, I’m almost always eating it hot and have over the years developed my own weeknight pesto recipe if you will. I think the best part about pesto is that it is bright and zingy. Sometimes store bought pesto is missing that extra oomph or is under seasoned (i.e. needs salt). I basically fortify store bought pesto with flavors that are already in said existing pesto and bump up the flavor.
This is another one of those no recipe, recipes but I will share my go to pesto pasta with chicken and broccoli for those in the Supper Club. I do most of my grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s and for the sake of this post will be using their prepared pesto. I pretty much start all of my cooking with some sort of allium (onion) and garlic which is exactly what I do here.
Ingredients
Store bought pesto
1 small onion, small diced (could also use shallots)
6 ish cloves garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes (optional)
Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper
Heavy cream (optional)
Lemon - juice and zest
In a saute pan, over medium heat, sweat diced onion in a tablespoon or two. Cook until translucent - about 4 minutes.
Add garlic and cook and chili flakes and cook until fragrant.
Add pesto and mix to incorporate. I usually thin out the pesto using some of the pasta cooking liquid, you can also use chicken or vegetable stock. Let that come to a simmer.
Add a touch of heavy cream for creaminess and a good amount of grated parmesan cheese. As always, season your sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
I like to finish the sauce with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. Topping the sauce with fresh basil is also a great way to reinforce the pesto flavor.
