Growing mint means you eventually have armies of it. What to do with it all? Here is a both a savory and a sweet pesto (for those that can tolerate some agave nectar) using mint.
Greek Style Meatloaf with Savory Mint Pesto
Preheat oven to 350 degrees: serves 2-3 people
Savory Pesto Ingredients:
1 large clove garlic (or 2 or 3 small)
½ cup of mixed nuts/seeds (pine nuts and pistachios are traditional but is delicious with any mix- such as sunflower seeds and walnuts)
½ cup parsley and mixed fresh herbs- including at least 4 leaves of mint, and/or oregano, basil, summer savory, and rosemary
Meat Loaf Ingredients:
1 lb ground meat- (game meats like elk, venison, rabbit or ground dark meat turkey)
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp allspice or cinnamon
1/8 tsp cumin
vinegar (any kind)
Make the savory mint pesto first by grinding all nuts and fresh herbs together in mill, pestle or food processor. Set aside.
Knead ground meat with dry spices in a bowl and flatten it out on a piece of wax paper the length of a small baking dish. Make rows of the pesto on the meat surface and roll up into a log by peeling off the wax paper as you go. Put loaf into small baking dish (make your log as long as the dish - it will shrink overall in baking) and pour over it a half cup mix of 1/8 cup vinegar (any kind) mixed with 3/8 cup of water. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until meat shrinks back and looks brown and done.
(Note: all meats have a different fat content and juiciness- so look in on the baking about half way through and either baste the loaf with the vinegar water it if looks too dry or drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top to prevent burning.)
Delicious served with chicken rice soup with squeezed fresh lemon to taste. Or try dolmas; grape leaves stuffed with rice. Serve with a green salad with cucumbers, olives, tomatoes, and more fresh mint! Or tabouli (pg 251) made with quinoa that uses a little bit more mint in the making.
Sweet Mint Pesto: about 1 cup
Use a tablespoon of this sweet pesto to top off individual bowls of fruit salad for dessert. Or use a tablespoon in a fruit smoothie. Or if you are having a special treat night, swirl ¼ cup or more into the batter when using the recipe in the book for chocolate cake. You can also put a few tablespoons into the blender when making the chocolate mousse recipe for a frosting or as a pudding.
½ cup cashews or other nuts
2 cups packed fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup agave nectar
1½ teaspoon vanilla extract + 1½ teaspoons mint extract- or you can use all vanilla of you don’t have mint.
In a food processor, using the steel blade, chop the nuts and then add remaining ingredients. Puree into a paste. If not using right away, transfer to a glass container, lay plastic wrap over the top so it is completely touching the surface of the paste to keep the air from entering the pesto. Otherwise it will turn quite brown- it is still perfectly edible but looks less minty and appealing. Store in refrigerator for up to a month.