Chive Pesto

Several years ago, I planted a small herb garden...with chives, thyme, basil, oregano, and rosemary. Each year since then, the chives and oregano have come back. This year, they are back with a vengeance. So. Many. Chives.

Last year, when the chives threatened to take over the back patio, I planned to make a fancy chive quiche...with the thin stalks and flowers placed artfully on top. That never happened. I let the herbs wither and die instead, only cutting off some here and there for salads and such. That quiche may happen this week, though.

Yesterday, I cut off half of the chives and made pesto. It's fairly easy....blitz 4 cups of chopped chives (the flowers are edible, too) with 1/4 cup almonds, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 garlic clove, juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 cup of olive oil (or more to reach desired consistency), salt & pepper (to taste).

This stuff is LIKE WHOA STRONG. Really potent onion flavor and bit of a spicy sting. Next time, I would add lemon zest with the juice and a handful or two of spinach to mellow it out.

Nevertheless, this pesto is quite tasty. I ate some spooned over seared cod for dinner.

Here's what I plan to do with the rest, because it made about 2 cups:

Mix it into softened butter for toast.

Scramble into eggs.

Blend with sour cream for dip.

Spread on sandwiches.

Whisk into salad dressing.

Toss with hot pasta.

Stir into hot rice.

Drizzle over grilled meat or fish.

Use as a pizza sauce.

Add to chicken or tuna salad.
Make ricotta-chive gnocchi.

Now, I just need to decide what to do with all that oregano...