Please Pass The Pesto, Not the Pasta!

I recently upgraded my poor, old, dented Revereware soup pot (can you say, 1982?) to a wonderful high-end piece of cookware. Oh, happy, happy, happy!!!! It was a rite of passage actually. And I am in LOVE with my new pan. I had a hard time not buying up the entire store -- that's how much I love Sur La Table. But ONLY because I love increasing my power to nourish others!!!

One thing I do believe in besides nourishing, is paying it forward. And that's why I developed this recipe to help show off some amazing Pesto hand made by a friend of mine, Erin Grier Stevens, the founder of She's Pesto in Charlotte, NC. Erin has the most delicious, homemade, all locally sourced and traditional Pesto. It is bright and clean, tangy and full of flavor. And the perfect topping for, of all things, beef stew. YUM. She and I are also being featured in the April Issue of Lake Norman Lifestyle Magazine, thanks to our friend Melissa Latin, the Food Editor for the Magazine. So we're pretty excited about the exposure about our respective businesses. But at the end of the day what I think we love most is good food. And we definitely both believe that's the currency of LIFE.

​So, here's your invitation to pass the Pesto and the spoon!

RECIPE: Beef Artichoke Vegetable Stew with Basil Pesto

• Ingredients
• Method

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1 1/3 (appx) lbs. beef chunks for stew (your choice of cut)
5 medium carrots, cut into chunks
1 huge russet, cut into chunks
½ large sweet onion
2 T roasted garlic, mashed
1 14 can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1 beef bouillon cube
4 C water
1 ½ t good dried oregano
½ t coriander powder
1 t allspice
½ t dried thyme
½ t (or more to your liking) cayenne powder
2 T fig vinegar
½ C chopped flat leaf parsley
3 T oil
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste (see METHOD to guide you in when to season with salt and pepper)
1/3 C She’s Pesto for garnish

Dissolve the bouillon cube in 4 C boiling water. Set aside.
Place the oil in a hot, preheated deep Dutch oven pan and then add the beef. Sprinkle with about 1 t salt and ½ t pepper and sear until caramelized on all sides. Add the chopped vegetables and onion, add a bit more salt and all of the spices from oregano to cayenne and cook on medium until the carrots are translucent. Add the liquid and the roasted garlic. Cover and simmer on low for 45 minutes, or until beef is tender, stirring only occasionally. Add the artichoke hearts and the fig vinegar and half the parsley and let simmer another 5 minutes. Test and add salt if needed.
Serve with a dollop of pesto and garnish with remaining parsley.