Honeydew Mint Pesto

Description

This Melon-Mint "Pesto" was originally developed for a summer short rib dish that was served with seared watermelon and pickled rind. It was a fun play on fruit and beef, and people really enjoyed the preparation. To be completely honest though, this sauce was so specific to this dish, I'm not sure I would ever put it with anything else or even make it again for that matter. This recipe is here just for the sake of completeness; who knows, maybe 20 years from now I'll rediscover and use it again.

Ingredients

133 g

Macadamia Nuts (Toasted)

300 g

Honeydew (Peeled & Seeded)

4 g

Salt

75 g

Water (Cold)

1 g

Xanthan Gum

400 g

Canola Oil

15 g

Mint (Leaves)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in blender, except oil, and blend on medium speed for about 60 seconds.
Emulsify in Canola Oil until the hole created by the blender movement is almost closed.
Add additional Xanthan Gum if needed to bring pesto to proper consistency. Be careful with the Xanthan Gum, it will quickly turn your pesto into pudding if a heavy hand is used.
Strain though a fine mesh strainer and reserve in a squeeze bottle.
Chill in refrigerator for at least 3 hours before using.

Source: Jacob Burton
Prep time: 10 minutes