When you have parsley growing like crazy in your garden, make this nutritious and delicious (and very versatile) spread. Enjoy it as a dip for rice crackers, spread it on crostini or sandwiches (regular or hot and melty chicken paninis), swoosh a spoonful onto dinner plates and top with grilled fish or white beans, melt it into hot pasta for the easiest sauce ever, or whisk a tablespoon into a vinaigrette to make it green goddessy.
Use any herbs you’ve got with a parsley and cilantro base (I’ve added tarragon instead of basil because it was what was growing); you want about a grocery store “bunch and a half”, but make your best guess and drizzle in the olive oil so you can stop when your amount of herbs has had enough. If you like garlic, add a sliced clove. This spread uses pumpkin seeds, the green ones known as “pepitas” which come from hull-less pumpkin varieties. Ideally, soak them in water to cover for a few hours or up to overnight.
From the RiPE archives. My recipe is inspired by the “Green Omega Spread” by Lauren Mendez for Bauman College that my friend Annette shared with me years ago.
Creamy Garden Herb Spread
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw pepitas (unroasted, unseasoned) soaked in water with a couple pinches of salt for a few hours or up to overnight
- half bunch Italian parsley, mostly leaves, discard the hard stems (mostly)
- half bunch cilantro
- half bunch basil, mostly leaves, discard the hard stems
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced optional
- ½ cup olive oil California Olive Ranch
- 1 teaspoon salt sea salt or Kosher salt
Instructions
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Drain the water from the pumpkin seeds and discard the soaking water. Place pumpkin seeds, greens, lemon juice, garlic (if using), olive oil, and salt in a powerful blender like a Vitamix (use the plunger to get the greens into the blade) and purée until smooth. (Alternatively, use a food processor, but it will be less creamy than using a Vitamix.)
Store in a covered jar. Keeps several days, refrigerated.
