Bok Choy Pesto with Cilantro and Black Sesame Seed, an excellent Asian fusion pesto sauce perfect for for a dip or to serve with pasta
I’m a huge fan of the traditional Italian pesto sauce. It’s so versatile and can be used in pasta, salad dressings, even pizza. I’m always surprised when I find young kids eating pesto sauce. We don’t give our kids or their taste buds much credit.
In an effort to mix things up and make our meals more healthy, I’m sharing a twist on my beloved pesto, this Bok Choy Pesto with Cilantro and Black Sesame Seeds. A little asian fusion.
The green base is made with cilantro and baby bok choy. I’ve also added garlic, ginger, olive oil, and sesame oil. It smells heavenly!
You can use this pesto sauce with regular ‘ole spaghetti or even some chow mein or udon noodles, to keep things interesting.
My kids loved this sauce. Again, any pesto you come up with is so versatile. You can even use it as a dipping sauce with some pita bread.
Thank you, Frieda’s Produce for the beautiful bok choy!
Bok Choy Pesto with Cilantro and Black Sesame Seed
Bok Choy makes an excellent Asian fusion pesto sauce perfect for for a dip or to serve with pasta. Recipe by Laura Bashar of Family Spice
Ingredients:
- 4 small bok choy
- 2 cup cilantro, fresh, loosely packed
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 in ginger, fresh
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper, ground
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp sesame seed
Directions:
- In a food processor, purée until smooth:
- 4 small bok choy
- 2 cup cilantro, fresh , loosely packed
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 in ginger, fresh
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper, ground
- While the machine is running, mix in until sauce is smooth and creamy:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- Transfer sauce to a bowl and stir in by hand:
- 2 tsp sesame seed
Notes:
Serving Suggestions: Serve as an appetizer with bread, or mix with your favorite pasta.
Prep Time:
Yield: 6 servings
Eha says
atAs far as the pesto goes, you posted this just at the right time, ’cause I’d bought troppo mucho of my beloved bok choi and now I know what I’ll do with it in the morning! Wonder how long it’ll keep in the fridge – a couple of days? As far as partying goes I also fully agree with you – fun on the last day: great, films and parties galore afore . . . won’t there be quite enough of those during the school holidays . . .
Lizthechef says
atHappy summer, Mom…
john@kitchenriffs says
atGet your kids interested in food photography. They’ll quickly learn there’s no instant gratification, and effort – real effort – is required. Or more realistically, some other activity that interests them but takes awhile to learn (and that they can only later even dream of mastering). Good rant. Better recipe. Good stuff. Thanks.
Jade Asian Greens says
atLaura, we agree with your rant wholeheartedly. Working hard and finishing the school year strong is what we need.
And how clever is your bok choy pesto! Love it! We’re going to feature this on our Facebook page and link here so people can see how you made it, and your lovely photography. If you wish, come LIKE us on Facebook for more recipes and tips on super healthy Asian green vegetables like baby bok choy, gai lan, dau miu (pea shoots), yu choy, gai choy, etc. https://www.facebook.com/Jade.Asian.Greens
–Your friendly Southern California farmers at Jade Asian Greens
Jeanne @JollyTomato says
atYou are a mind reader! I have a bunch of bok choy at home and I was *just* saying, “What can I do with this bok choy that is not a stir fry?” Bingo! Thanks!
Mr. & Mrs. P says
atThis looks wonderful… so bright and green…
Mary Platis @California Greek Girl says
atYour vibes are perfect….I needed a pesto for tonight’s left-over chicken and pasta! Perfecto. By the way , your photos are truly a piece of art!
Nami | Just One Cookbook says
atMy kids finished their school already and now my house is pretty chaotic. Interesting that they have parties and parties before school ends. I wish my school was like that. My son’s class got to pick a movie last day or so. I don’t think I had a fun movie day in all my school years (but then it’s in different country). I’ve seen so many kinds of pesto, and surely this is my first bok choy pesto! You are so creative! And you are very very hard worker too! 🙂
mjskit says
atThat is sad that the last week of school is nothing but movies! No wonder the kids were so ill prepared by the time I got them. UGH! Great rant! However, I do have to admit that I love the instant gratification from a personal perspective. 🙂 I just took a road trip with a friend and every time an “unknown” came up in the conversation, one of us was pulling out the iPad. We had our answer instantly! Loved it! Your bok choy and cilantro dish looks fabulous and your pictures are lovely! And KR is right – no instant gratification with food photography. You really have to work for it and yours its beautiful.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
atSuch a creative pesto, love the flavors!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
atWhat a unique way to use Bok Choy, I love it!
Priscilla | ShesCookin says
atWhat a novel pesto! Must try – as I’ve made pesto from nearly every other green vegetable 🙂 Baby Bok Choy is so cute – stunning pics as always!
laurasmess says
atWhat an interesting pesto! I’ve never even thought of making an asian pesto (the concept messes with my mind a bit) but this looks delicious. And yes – rant validated! Definitely agree that there’s too much instant gratification these days. I’m a gen Y but I still get annoyed at the fact that some children have lost the art of communication (‘texting’ has ruined spelling) and seem to grow up with an over-iniflated sense of entitelement these days!!! Good on you for setting a back-to-basics schedule for them! Hope that you have an amazing Summer together 🙂
Suzanne Perazzini says
atGreat idea to use bok choy instead of basil. I think going back to the basics is a good plan. We only had parties on the last day too.
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
atNever would have ever thought of using bok choy in pesto! How creative yummy it looks 🙂
Nancy/SpicieFoodie says
atOther than sauteed I never know how to use bok choy. Thanks so much for sharing your great pesto recipe. I love the exotic twist you created!
Kristi Rimkus says
atI have to say I agree with you. My kids are adults now, but I had the same feeling then as you do now. They have a summer break to play, and it takes them a month to get back to the swing of things in the fall where they don’t learn much either. Why not just keep it to a day of celebrating the last day of school?
Anyway, this looks fantastic. I love your pictures.
Sandra @ The Adored Home says
atJoining you from the Meatless Monday Blog Hop! What a yummy recipe! I will be trying this for sure! I am now following you on all social media. Hope you will stop by and do the same!
Sandra
The Adored Home
d4v1d says
atWhen I made it with bok choy, i found four cups of bok was too much, a bit too leaf-flavored, the cilantro didn’t cut through. when i make a version with spinach four cups is ok. this is a delicious meal, one of my favorites. i use whatever greens my farmshare is sending me home with.
Family Spice says
atI have found different varieties of bok choy to have different flavors and intensities. I love the idea of making pesto with whatever greens you have handy.