PESTO CHANGE-O TURN TRADITIONAL BASIL SAUCE INTO CREATIVE VARIATIONS.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor

Green is in - and although you'll probably not find the Hulk consuming pesto, it's the season to put it on your table.

All sorts of ingredients and green herbs lend themselves to myriad seductive variations on the pesto theme. Peruse gourmet stores and supermarkets and you'll find a variety of choices, including artichoke lemon pesto, sun-dried tomato pesto, olive pesto and more.

At home, you might blend up arugula pesto, hazelnut pesto, spinach and cheese pesto, sage pesto, cilantro-ginger pesto, cilantro-lime pesto or others. Some of the unusual ones developed by Cook's Illustrated magazine include arugula and ricotta, roasted mushroom, roasted red pepper and toasted nut and parsley pestos.

The fresh, uncooked, versatile condiment or sauce has numerous applications - spread it on crackers, crostini or sandwiches, toss it with hot cooked pasta, spoon it atop or in soups, dollop it on baked potatoes or omelets and spread it over tomato slices topped with fresh mozzarella cheese slices.

You can also use a spoonful or two to perk up vinaigrette, mayonnaise or sour cream dressings, potato or macaroni salads, even casseroles or stove-top meals. Or serve alongside grilled fish, chicken or meats. And yes, it's a great base in place of tomato sauce atop a Boboli or pizza crust.

It's one of many flavoring tricks available to cooks, notes Christopher Kimball, founder and editor of Cook's Illustrated.

Pesto comes from the Italian word pestare, meaning to pound or grind. Although purists insist on making it (from basil leaves, raw garlic, extra- virgin olive oil, pine nuts, grated cheese and salt) by using a mortar and pestle, the way it's been done in Liguria, Italy, for centuries, says Lou Seibert Pappas, author of 40 cookbooks (including the out-of-print ``Pesto''), she has streamlined recipes to use a food processor, which is more practical for today's home cooks. The old-fashioned way ``takes away the joy of something wonderful and quick,'' she adds.

A blender can also be used, but ``the food processor makes a sauce with a fine, more consistent texture,'' note the editors of Cook's Illustrated in ``The America's Test Kitchen Cookbook.'' To tone down the raw garlic sting in pesto, the editors suggest blanching whole cloves in boiling water for under a minute prior to blending into the sauce.

While pine nuts are traditionally used in Italian recipes, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, macadamia and even peanuts are possibilities for different flavor twists. Toasting the nuts brings out the flavor - and can done in a dry skillet or for 30 to 60 seconds in a microwave oven (watch carefully to avoid burning).

In the herb realm, besides basil, try Italian parsley, watercress, thyme, oregano, cilantro, mint, dill, tarragon and more - either alone or in various combinations. We've even seen sesame seeds, dry mustard, soy sauce, rice vinegar and ginger stirred into an Asian-inspired cilantro-mint pesto.

Although pesto is traditionally made with lots of olive oil, and many store-bought varieties are swimming in it, Pappas has reduced the amounts to lighten up her recipes. ``They taste great without so much fat - and more of the flavors come through,'' she adds.

After testing, adapting and developing numerous recipes, we've taken the liberty to reduce the amounts of oil in many - such as the artichoke, sun-dried tomato and zucchini pestos that follow - with delicious results.

But however much oil you opt to use, it's important that's it's really good olive oil, stresses Kimball.

``You should buy really strong, harsh olive oil to stand up to the rest of the ingredients.'' If you plan to add pesto to pasta, dress the cooked pasta with fresh oil and the pesto - and don't cook it.

Basil pestos should be eaten immediately to avoid discoloration and loss of flavor. ``Basil is like coffee,'' Kimball says. ``It smells great but tastes awful sometimes.'' The soil the herb is grown in can make the difference in the taste.

How fast the basil darkens (usually within a day or two in the fridge) depends on how old it is when you make the pesto and what kind of shape it's in, adds Pappas, noting that basil is more perishable than many other herbs like dill or oregano.

Kimball freezes pesto in ice cube trays, then turns the cubes out into double bags and keeps them in the freezer through the winter - about six months. Although frozen pesto does lose some flavor and discolors, he pops cubes into soups, pomodoro sauces, pot au feu and other dishes for a flavor boost. These days Kimball is partial to his chive and flat-leaf Italian parsley pesto, which must be used with discretion due to its strong flavor.

``It's a snap to blend up a batch of pesto for a taste-tingling accent to innumerable dishes,'' notes Pappas, so get cooking.

Natalie Haughton, [phone]

natalie.haughton(at)dailynews.com

THREE-HERB PESTO

2/3 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves

2/3 cup firmly packed fresh mint leaves

2/3 cup firmly packed fresh parsley leaves

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 large cloves garlic, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar OR to taste

In a blender or food processor, puree all ingredients until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep refrigerated in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Let pesto come to room temperature before using. Makes about 1 cup.

From Gourmet magazine.

BASIL PESTO

Traditionally, pesto is made with much more olive oil, but this version suits today's lighter eating styles.

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

3 tablespoons pine nuts, walnuts OR pistachios

2 large cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-reggiano cheese

In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, place basil, pine nuts and garlic. Process until finely minced. Add oil and cheese and process until mixed in. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and chill. Makes about 3/4 cup.

From ``Pesto,'' by Lou Seibert Pappas.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO PESTO

Many tasters gave this pesto version high marks.

1 1/2 cups drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1/3 cup grated Parmesan OR Romano cheese OR a combination of the two

1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves

3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts OR blanched slivered toasted almonds

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine sun-dried tomatoes, cheese, basil, nuts, garlic and shallot and process until chopped. Add oil and process until mixture is finely pureed, but still has some texture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill until serving. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

ARTICHOKE LEMON PESTO

The idea for this recipe is from a pesto sold at Trader Joe's, but this version contains much more basil. Increase the lemon peel and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

1 (12-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, rinsed and well-drained

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves

1 lemon, grated peel and juice

1 to 2 cloves garlic, pressed

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup olive oil

3 to 4 tablespoons water

Seasoned salt and garlic pepper to taste

ZUCCHINI PESTO

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

1 to 2 cloves garlic

2 medium OR 3 small zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 green onion, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

Seasoned salt and garlic pepper to taste

Blend basil, walnuts and garlic in a food processor fitted with a metal blade until finely chopped. Add zucchini, Parmesan cheese and green onion; process until chopped. Add oil and process until mixture is finely chopped. Season to taste with salt and garlic pepper. Transfer to a glass or plastic container, cover tightly and refrigerate. Makes about 2 cups.

DILL PESTO

1 1/2 cups packed fresh dill leaves

1/2 cup packed fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons walnuts, pistachios OR pine nuts

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan OR Romano cheese

In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, place dill, parsley, nuts and garlic. Process until finely minced. Add oil and cheese and process until mixed in. Transfer to a small bowl, cover and chill. Makes about 3/4 cup.

From ``Pesto,'' by Lou Seibert Pappas.

GREEN OLIVE PESTO

1 1/2 cups firmly packed drained pimiento-stuffed green olives, rinsed and well drained

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

1 garlic clove, cut up

1 tablespoon drained capers 

1 cup packed fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley OR basil leaves

3 tablespoons basil leaves (if using parsley)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process olives, pine nuts, garlic, capers and parsley until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil in a stream and cheese; blend well. Cover and chill until serving. Makes about 1 3/4 cups.

CAPTION(S):

10 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 9 -- cover -- color) Presto Pesto

Go from the basics to countless variations

(10 -- color) Pestos can be made in a variety of colors and flavors such as artichoke lemon, sun-dried tomato and basil.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer