Tomato Leaf Pesto

We hosted a Taro Pop-up and invited chefs to incorporate taro into a couple of dishes. We had griddle fried taro slices, taro hand-pies, creamy taro and ube dessert, and this delicious recipe from Yunanda Wilson. Yunanda celebrates her Burmese roots through cooking. In this recipe she took a traditional chicken and potato dish and substituted taro. “It wont be the last time!”

ingredients

Makes about 1 1/4 cups

• 2 Garlic cloves

• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

• 2 cups Fresh basil, lightly packed, chopped

• 1 cup Tomato leaves, lightly packed, (unchopped)*

• 1/2 cup Extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup Pecan halves

• 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated

  *Be sure to remove the tough central veins from the tomato leaves before measuring

Recipe Notes

1. Finely mince the garlic. Chop the salt into the garlic until it reaches a paste-like consistency. Let the garlic paste rest for about 10 minutes. This step mellows out the harshness and bite of raw garlic.

2. Place the basil, tomato leaves, olive oil, pecans, and garlic paste into a food processor. Pulse to a uniform consistency.

3. Transfer the mixture to a medium size bowl. Stir in the cheese until uniformly distributed, which helps create the best overall consistency.

4. Serve immediately, or transfer to a lidded container and store in the refrigerator, using within one week. Alternately, store in a freezer-proof container, and use within 6 months.