Spicy Cilantro Pesto with Sunflower Seeds

It rained like crazy recently. That means my larger garden plants all had snapped stems, leaving me to gather any branches that lay in disarray in the dirt and clean them off. Some peonies, irises, chives, and... cilantro.

This is an incredibly simple recipe borne from the need to use up large amounts of herbs without needing to get any additional ingredients. Often I'll buy a bunch of herbs from the grocery store and only need a small amount, leaving the rest to a miserable fate in the bottom of the vegetable crisper.

Although a "real" pesto would be made with basil, pine nuts and parmesan, I hardly ever have those things on hand, and because they're relatively expensive, I don't make the authentic stuff very often. But a cheese-free, untraditional herb sauce is just as good, and is incredibly versatile to boot- add whatever odds and ends of leafy green herbs you've got. The only ingredient that isn't really a pantry staple besides the herbs is the lime, but you can just as well use a lemon or even a tiny bit of vinegar- it's mostly there to help keep the greens from oxidizing with acidity.

There is a commercially available pesto not too different from this one that I can't turn down in the winter, but now that my garden is overflowing with herby goodness, it'd be a travesty to buy what I can make in seconds flat using a handy dandy food processor. I love that thing.

This pesto tastes great on pasta (obviously), pizza, as a sandwich spread, along with grilled cheese, as a salad dressing when mixed with a bit more lime juice and oil, on roasted vegetables, in hummus... and so on. The only time you wouldn't like it is if you're one of those cilantro haters (I've always found that cilantro is one of those polarizing foods you either like or detest with a burning passion) or if you can't handle the heat. If you want, you can omit the pepper (at the expense of the "spicy" part of the name) or use a milder jalapeño.

The day will come when you've got more cilantro than you can handle. And when it comes, make this pesto and rejoice.

Spicy Cilantro Pesto with Sunflower Seeds
2 C. Chopped cilantro (stems and all), substitute some parsley if desired
1/2 C. Chopped chives or green onions
1/4 C. Roasted sunflower seeds
1 Red bird chili (fresh or dried)
1/4 Tsp. Each ground coriander and cumin
1/2 Tsp. Coriander seeds (optional)
Juice of 1/2 a small lime
4 Cloves of garlic
1/2 Tsp. Salt, or more to taste
1/2 C. Olive oil, or other good-tasting salad oil (such as camelina, pumpkinseed, etc.)

Blend all the ingredients, with only 1/4 C. of the oil, in a food processor. You could also use a pestle and mortar, if you have one large enough and enough free time. Once all the ingredients are pulverized into relatively small pieces, leaving a paste, fill a small container and top with the remaining oil.

Keep in the fridge for up to two weeks (but trust me, it won't last that long).