Castroville Artichoke Festival Pesto

first of all, artichokes? Those things look like plant Demogorgons. You gotta peel ’em back layer by layer like you’re solving a puzzle. And pesto? That’s usually basil, right? So this is like… a remix. Like when you take a campaign module and homebrew it so it’s way more awesome. Oh! Oh, that’s actually insane. It’s creamy but kinda chunky, like it’s got texture stats. You get the garlicky punch, then this tangy artichoke thing that’s not scary at all—it’s actually kinda epic. It tastes fancy, but like in a ‘we’re level five now and we can handle it’ way. I would absolutely bring this to a D&D session. But I’d guard it. Because this? This is party loot.

Ingredients

  • 3 artichokes

  • 1 tbs olive oil (plus 1/2 cup more)

  • 1 tsp kosher salt

  • 1/2 cup parsley

  • 1/2 cup asiago cheese

  • 1/2 cup shelled pistachios

  • 1 tbs lemon zest

  • 1 tsp ground black pepper

  • 1 tbs fresh oregano

Directions

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F.

  2. Remove the stems and tops of the artichokes, season with 1 tsp kosher salt and drizzle 1 tbs olive oil on top of cut artichokes and wrap tightly in foil. Bake artichokes in oven for 1 hour. Remove artichokes from foil and remove the roasted heart from the artichokes.

  3. In a food processor, add the artichoke hearts, parsley, asiago cheese, pistachios, lemon zest, black pepper, and oreganos. Puree the contents of the food processor while slowly drizzling in the 1/2 cup of olive oil.

  4. Serve over pasta.