Cilantro Walnut Pesto & Alexia Fries

I made this Cilantro Walnut Pesto for years.  You can see it from my old post here.  I realized that I haven't exactly really shared my pesto recipe, so I would share it now.  When walnut was on sales, I bought one big bag and kept it in the freezer.  So, I would have walnut on hands if I wanted it in making cookies, cake, or pesto.  Very convenient!  I added tuna in water into my pesto for added nutrient.  I also added a side of sweet potato fries to make it complete.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a free coupon to sample the Alexia product.  I wanted to try the Caroline BBQ Sweet Potato Fried initially but it was not carried in the supermarket I went to.  So, I ended up picking this Sweet Potato fries.  Alexia premium foods are all natural, delicious and free of trans fat.  You can pick from appetizer, side dishes or bread.  It is a great way to bring outstanding gourmet flavor straight from the freezer to the table in just minutes.  I tasted the sweet potato fries, I got to say it tasted just liked my homemade sweet potato fries.  I sprinkled with some Paprika before baking, but I should have used cayenne pepper because I was hoping for a little spiciness.  It was slightly crispy and the sweet potato was sweet.  If you were too busy to prepare from scratch, this all natural Alexia frozen products could be a good alternative.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of 16 oz spaghetti
• 3 pouches of premium light tuna in water (2.5 oz each)
• 1 Tbsp. of butter (you can use more to suit your taste)
• 3 huge tablespoons of my cilantro walnut pesto
• My homemade rice wine (you can use white wine)
• Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Method:

1.  Cook spaghetti as package instruction.  Drain in cold water and set aside.

2.  In a frying pan, add in spaghetti, butter, pesto and tuna.  Use two forks to mix it well together.  Sprinkle with some rice wine or white wine of it started to stick to the pan.  Stir quickly to mix well.

3.  Serve on plate along side with salt and pepper.  Season to taste based on your personal taste.

Cilantro Walnut Pesto:

1 bunch of cilantro, wash it clean and cut off the bottom part of the stems

6-8 gloves of garlic, depending on how strong you like the garlic taste

1/2 cup of walnut, lightly chopped

Extra virgin olive oil as needed

Salt, black pepper and sugar to taste

In a food processor, add in garlic and walnuts, process until fine.  Add in cilantro in two batches.  Process until fine.  Pour in the extra virgin olive oil until your desired pesto consistency.  Season with salt, black pepper and sugar and process again.  Keep this pesto in a glass bottle and keep in the refrigerator.  You can use this for your pasta, poultry and even seafood.