orecchiette pasta with cilantro pesto
July 1, 2013 § 32 Comments
We are finally having HOT sunny days here in Seattle. Thank goodness for the tomato plants who have been very patiently waiting for the sun during the past three weeks. Seattle can be a unkind to tomatoes. Typically my plants are late bloomers and by the time their skins should turn red a blanket of clouds cover the sun once again leaving them an orange hue rather than red and a good supply of green ones too. I have learned it is best to plant “little” tomatoes such as cherry, grape, sun gold and/or a medium size roma varietal for our short lived tomato growing season. However, it could just be me and my lack of tomato growing knowledge.
s u g a r p l u m g r a p e t o m a t o e s
I have a pasta recipe here which requires only one burner on your stove for boiling the orecchiette. A summery fresh pasta while keeping the heat out of the kitchen!
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 1 pound good quality orecchiette
- 2 bunches cilantro, washing and thick stems removed
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 heaping tablespoons plain greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- salt to taste
- sugar plum grape tomatoes
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook until it is al dente. While the pasta cooks prepare the pesto.
f l o w e r i n g c i l a n t r o
Place cilantro in food processor and whizz until finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and whizz until it is a well mixed pesto.
Slice sugar plum grape tomatoes into small bits and set aside.
Drain the cooked pasta without shaking the colander too much leaving a trace amount of the cooking water. Return to the pot and stir in the pesto. Taste to see if you need to salt. Place in serving bowls topped with sliced sugar plum tomatoes and a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan.
orecchiette pasta with cilantro pesto and a page in my son’s drawing journal
Serves 4
buon appetite.
COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE 
You have a talented artist there! (and one can never go wrong with a good pesto dish in the summer!)
Yes..he loves to draw ;) and I agree…this heat is a great excuse to make pesto…every other day!
I have the same problem for different reasons where I live in Oklahoma. It gets so hot here in the summer that tomatoes will just crack and burst. So for years now I’ve only been growing Romas and cherry/grape varieties. But I really prefer those anyway!!! I love love your pesto and pasta.
Thank you Chef Mimi! I can only imagine how hot your temperatures are in Oklahoma. I have been there several times and the humidity is stifling! I prefer the little tomatoes too. :)
Great great photos! Very nice idea to make pesto with cilantro, I have never done that. Abrazo!
Thank you Rosa! :)
That dish looks delish’. I am no tomato expert but just two hours north from where you are we have the same tomato issues.. :) I gave up growing anything bigger than a Roma as well. Lucky for us that there are so many beautiful varieties of the little one now. I got to plant black ones and pink ones this year.
Oooo. Black and pink tomatoes, sounds fun! Last year I my favorite was a speckled pink one. I just love all the heirlooms available. I have grown to love the little tomatoes. Maybe we are experts for our area?? :) hmmm…two hours north…gorgeous country up there!
This looks delicious! I’ve never made pesto with cilantro but have to give it a try. :)
This is beautiful and I love cilantro pesto!
It seems that your summer is ahead of ours. It’s been unseasonably wet and cool and the tomato plant are well behind schedule. But on the plus side – everything is SO wonderfully green.
Prior to Saturday we were unseasonably wet and cold too! We’ve have 3 days of HIGH HEAT! (88°F..not too high..really) :) It’s suppose to get back down into the 70’s tomorrow. Poor tomatoes….
Dish looks great , but my eyes were drawn to the board on which you placed the little tomatoes. It’s gorgeous! I’ve never seen anything like it. Can you tell me more about it?
As you can imagine I was ecstatic when I found it at…the goodwill!! Yes, the thrift store. It is hand carved and solid. The white bowl wasn’t sitting in it when I discovered it. I headed over to the “dishes” section and found this perfect size bowl to fit. :)
This looks simply divine!
Thank you…and thank you for stopping by my blog as well. :) Your’s look like it is off to a great start.
As I seem to be on a theme of coriander/cilantro I’ll definitely be making your pesto. Before that in the queue is parsley pesto and walnuts. Hmm, don’t think I can get pecans here so I’ll probably have to sub.
I’m seem to be making pesto every time I turn around. I think it’s the hot weather we are finally having. Pecans seemed like the better of the three choices I had on hand..(sunflower seeds / pine nuts) and it turned out to be great. I have been thinning out my pestos a little more lately. Less of a paste and a little more “saucy”. Same ingredients just a little more olive oil or in this case using yogurt. So maybe it isn’t a pesto at all? :)
Love the sound of your orecchietta with pesto recipe. A delicious combination of ingredients.
Thank you Karen. :)
Looks like a perfect weeknight meal :)
Hi Leslie! It is a perfect meal for midweek…so easy and more than likely it wouldn’t require a trip to the market. Have a good week! :)
Oh, that looks utterly delicious! Hubby would love this… he is a big fan of cilantro! And I just LOVE orecchiette!! Beautiful!
Thanks! You need to make this. It’s fantastic and I have been using this same type of pesto for all kinds of dishes since…delicious.
Love that orecchiette is so versatile and can be used with such a variety of sauces, pesto being a favorite. That was some lucky find at the Goodwilll. Who knew? :)
I know! I was so happy about it. Every now and then I find a great treasure at the Goodwill. :)
i’ve try many pesto, spinach, kale, mint but none with flat leaf parsley or cilantro…..
sounds refreshing !
never seen orecchiette before, looks so cute shaped pasta!
:) The orecchiette is shaped like little helmets! Give the cilantro a try…you will be pleasantly surprised how delicious.
[…] well and truly hooked. And can’t wait to try a version of yoghurt and coriander pesto, Orecchiette pasta with cilantro, again a more recent post on the same blog. That will have to wait until I can buy in, if […]
I love your son’s drawing!!! Haha, fantastic characters! The pasta looks absolutely beautiful too. If I remember rightly, ‘orecchiette’ means ‘little ears’ in Italian? I have to look it up. It’s a cute pasta, whatever it means! Beautiful post xx
Laura… I think you are right orecchiettte is little ears. My son calls them “hard hats”. I appreciate your comments and checking in!
Haha, they do look a bit like hard hats. I like that idea! xx
the tomatoes are gorgeous! i’ve never tried other pesto than basil.