Stampede Pesto

An "oldie" but a goodie, this pesto recipe features a sharp-aged cow/goat blend from Goat Rodeo Farm & Dairy of Allison Park, Pennsylvania.

The first time I made Stampede Pesto was in August of 2016 and I haven't used another cheese in my pesto since. But if you're looking for a nice cow's milk substitute, I'd recommend "Royer Mountain" from Clover Creek Cheese Cellar of Williamsburg, Pennsylvania.

If you've been out to a Western Pennsylvania farmers market lately, you've probably noticed that basil plants are on the scene and garden-ready, or in my case, planter-ready.

To me, this means pesto season is just around the corner, which is why I've revived this recipe to share with you.

Stampede Pesto

What you'll need:

2-3 heaping cups of fresh basil leaves

3-4 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup of walnut oil

3/4 cup of grated Stampede cheese

3 tablespoons of sunflower seeds

How to:

Place the basil and the seeds in a blender or food processor and blend.

Add the garlic and grated cheese and pulse a few times.

Pour in the walnut oil and blend thoroughly.

Notes: In the original recipe, I used a "lemon" variety of basil from HerBold Farm. This season, I might try using their garlic scapes as a substitute for the minced garlic. I'm running low on walnut oil but I've been getting mine from the Pastamore booth at CitiParks Farmers Markets in the Northside (Fridays) and East Liberty (Mondays). You could use any variety of alternate oils, including olive (traditional) or grapeseed. You could also experiment with different seeds, use pine nuts (traditional) or even cashews.