Hi Friends!
It’s been a while, but it’s time for another Secret Recipe Club post!
This month I was assigned to Katherine’s blog: Katherine Martinelli. She has a beautiful blog and takes amazing photos. I drooled over pretty much everything, and after much deliberation I finally decided I was so intrigued by her Cilantro Pesto that I had to give it a try!
A few weeks ago, I was tweeting with Lauren and she was telling me how much she loved this roasted red pepper pesto! I was immediately in love and bookmarked the recipe. When I decided to make this cilantro pesto, I thought it’d be the perfect time to add in a roasted red pepper to it to tone down the cilantro a little.
So I made a few changes to Katherine’s recipe. I used almonds instead of pine nuts because I had them on hand, added a red pepper, decreased the oil and didn’t use any cheese!
Cilantro & Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
Prep Time: 5 min
Keywords: food processor healthy vegetarian red pepper cilantro
Ingredients (1/2 cup)
- 1 roasted red pepper, skin & seeds removed
- 1/3 raw almonds
- 2 cups cilantro leaves
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
- parmesan cheese if desired
Instructions
Place the almonds and garlic in a food processor and pulse several times.
Add the cilantro and red pepper and process until smooth.
Slowly pour in the olive oil and process until well blended.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freeze.
It turned out really well! I served in on some salmon but i’m putting the rest in the freezer for the next time I feel like making some bruschetta….and i’ll use the rest to make some pesto pasta. YUM!
Thanks to Katherine for the inspiration!
Weekend Workout- Saturday:
I put together a stability ball workout with cardio blasts. Each exercise was done for 50 sec. followed by 10 sec rest. This took 20 minutes, followed by an optional 5 minute ab workout that could be done once or twice.
Pin It
If you’re not sure how to do any of these exercises using a stability ball, just google them! There are tons of videos out there to show you, but here’s a quick run down: One legged squats- place the ball between your back and a wall. Stand on one leg and squat down. The ball will roll down the wall with you. Seated shoulder press- Sit on the stability ball and do shoulder presses like normal Hamstring curl- Lay on the floor and place one foot on top of the ball. Roll the ball towards you using your hamstring and then roll it back out. Chest press: Place your feet on the floor and your upper back on the ball. Perform chest press like normal. One Legged Wall Sit- Place the stability ball between your back and the wall. Stand on one leg and roll down the wall until your leg is in a seated position. Hold. Seated lateral raises- Sit on the stability ball and perform lateral raises as usual Split squat- Put one foot, laces down on the top of the stability ball. Stretch your front leg out to a lunge position. Squat up and down. Decline pushups- Put your feet on the stability ball and your hands on the ground and do pushups. Abs: Oblique lifts- google this one Incline plank- Do a plank but put your forearms on the stability ball and keep your feet on the floor Knee tucks- put your hands on the floor and your legs on the stability ball. Pull your knees towards your stomach, rolling the ball in with them and back out Crunches- lay with your back on the stability ball and your feet on the floor and perform crunches like normal Enjoy! –Lindsay–
Get my free Table Talk email series where I share bite-sized nutrition information about carbs, protein, and fat, plus bonus information about snacks and sugar!
Claire @ Live and Love to Eat says
Sounds like pesto perfection – I’ve yet to try pesto on salmon.
Emily says
This looks AMAZING. I’m making it asap. (:
Lindsay says
enjoy 🙂
sarah k @ the pajama chef says
sounds like a great new pesto recipe. yum!
StoriesAndSweetPotatoes says
That will go right in my mouth and never make it on to a meal 😉
Lindsay says
haha nothing wrong with that!
Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen says
Cilantro pesto was one of the first recipes I made on my blog! It was a Thai-style pesto with peanuts….I think this twist with roasted red peppers would be delicious, though. 🙂
Lindsay says
reallly? that’s so fun!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says
Love this idea! I make cilantro pesto a lot, but never thought to add the red peppers. I’d be mixing it in with some black beans and jalapenos for a Mexican dish!
Lindsay says
that would be fabulous! i can’t believe i never knew about cilantro pesto until now!
Meg says
Wow looks amazing pretty lady <3 I starred it so I make it soon
Lindsay says
thanks girl!!
Beatriz says
This looks yummy, although I am not a fan of Salmon. I might try this on another type of fish or maybe chicken. Plus I like pesto and I feel I don’t make them enough.
Lindsay says
it would be awesome on chicken!
Talia @ Bite Size Wellness says
That looks so good and lucky for me I have all the ingredients on hand!
Lindsay says
you are a lucky girl 🙂
Lisa~~ says
What a delicious sounding recipe.
If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to check out my SRC entry: Crunchy Fudgy Heart Bites
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
Laura @ LauraLivesLife says
I finally found GF pasta that tastes just like “real” pasta, so I’m gathering all of the pasta recipes I can find! This will be perfect!
Lindsay says
yay! let me know how it is on pasta!
Lisa @ Sweet as Sugar Cookies says
What a nice change from the usual pesto sauce.
Lindsay says
i really liked how it turned out!
lindsay says
this is the coolest club! i want to join. Or i just want sample, can i do that? hehe
Lindsay says
you should DEF join! it’s so fun.
Susan (Oliepants) says
I can pretty much guarantee – nay promise – that once I get my food processor fix (or replaced), I will be making this.
I promise I make good promises – I still have the dog treats in mind. Sorry for that! 🙂
Lindsay says
haha no worries friend 🙂
Pure2raw twins says
oh yum! love pesto
Lindsay says
me too, especially on pizza!
Noelle (@singerinkitchen) says
WOw, what a delicious and quick pesto. Definitely pinning this!
Lindsay says
thanks so much girl!
Shelby says
I love the flavor punch pesto adds to your food – great mixture! Cilantro is one lf my favs!
Katherine Martinelli says
Lindsay thank you so much for your sweet introduction to my blog 🙂 I am so happy you chose the cilantro pesto – it’s one of my all time favorites! Your changes sound wonderful, I will definitely have to try it that way from now on! I’m following you on Pinterest and Twitter now too 😀
Jennifer Sikora says
I love pesto of any kind. I just finished making a poblano pesto and it was out of this world. Cannot wait to try your roasted red pepper pesto! Thanks for sharing
Susie Bee on Maui says
I love Katherine’s blog. Great adaptation of her recipe!
Lindsay says
thank you so much!
Kim Bee says
Oh how wonderful to get assigned Katherine’s blog. She is such a lovely lady. You made a great choice here. I love roasted peppers so I would guess this pesto would be right up my alley. It looks so full of flavor.
Lindsay says
thank you! i enjoyed exploring her blog!
Desi says
I’d skip the salmon (not a fan) but that pesto looks and sounds phenomenal. That ingredient list! Love the color too.
Margaret says
LOVE making pesto. Will have to add this one to the list.
Mary@FitandFed says
Pesto on salmon– definitely a classic (and a common way to serve it here in the Northwest). One-legged wall squats with a stability ball– I’ve done those. I figure skate so it’s really important for me to have the strength in those one-legged squats so I can do a sit spin.