Not Your Mother's Leftovers

The other day when I made the Prosciutto Wrapped Fish, included in the recipe was a little herb pesto that was spread on the prosciutto before the fish was wrapped up (sorry you couldn't really see it in the photo!). Since I only roasted 2 pieces of fish, I had quite a bit of the pesto left over. Not the worst problem to have.



Oh, wait. Before I go into my miraculous solution for what to do with leftover pesto (yawn) I have to mention what happened when I was actually making it. I grabbed my mini-prep, threw all of the ingredients into it, and it didn't work. Annoying! After 18 times of unplugging it and plugging it back in, and 17 times of taking the top off and putting it back on, I finally remembered that I had dropped the plastic top a few weeks ago. I discovered that I had totally broken off the little tab that slides into the mechanism that allows the whole thing to turn on. Crap. So I did what anyone in this predicament would do. I shoved the handle of a plastic spoon into the slot to turn it on. Hurray! To make a long story short (too late!) I need a new mini-prep. Waah.

OK so back to the recipe. It's a sandwich, folks. Nothing fancy, but definitely a step up from PB&J. (Not my fave.) Wait, does a sandwich even qualify as a recipe? I say yes, if there is more assembly than a piece of bologna nestled between two pieces of bread. And you have to make the herb pesto for this one. By the way, this pesto isn't made with cheese, so if you aren't into dairy, you should make it and toss it on your favorite pasta, or...whatever, with no need for Lactaid. But then you might not want to make this sandwich the way I did, with gobs of goat cheese oozing out of it. For everyone else...



Tina's Red, White and Green Sandwich

For the Herb Pesto (sans cheese - by way of Mark Bittman):
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Sandwich:
Baguette, Ficelle or other rustic bread, cut into 5-inch lengths, then split lengthwise
2 large beefsteak tomatoes, thickly sliced
4 ounces goat cheese
Herb Pesto
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. In a small food processor, combine the herbs, pine nuts, olive oil and salt and pepper to form a thick paste. Set aside. (Or use your leftover pesto from the Prosciutto Wrapped Fish recipe.)

2. Arrange the bread cut side up. Spread half of the pieces with the goat cheese, then top with the sliced tomato. Season the tomato with salt and pepper. Spread the pesto on the remaining bread pieces, and close the sandwich. Serves 4, more or less.