Pasta with Early Summer Herb Pesto

Pasta with a Marjoram & Thyme Pesto

Eli: I made this after Schatzi complained of my bland dinner idea for making roast chicken thighs seasoned with salt and pepper with rice and some vegetables. I looked around and remembered the bumper crop of herbs she had chopped and frozen in cubes just a week or so previous, and I knew what to do next. According to Saveur, there are all kinds of pestos in Liguria, where it comes from. When there isn’t quite enough basil on your summer plants for making up a batch, you can rely on other herbs to fill the gap. I used thyme and marjoram, and cooked up some rotini, sauteed a few chicken thighs, and combined it all with my mixed herb pesto. As a bonus, I topped the dish with a dollop of ricotta.

Early Summer Herb Pesto with Marjoram and Thyme

1/2 cup fresh marjoram
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (lemon thyme is great)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 – 1/4 cup Parmesan and/or Romano
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt (adjust to taste)
1/4 cup toasted walnuts

Put it all in a chopper and go. Voila. Herb pesto.