Pesto Fries

We try to incorporate pesto into our diets as much as possible. You may have seen our Italiano Dip recipe on the blog (shameless plug).

In recent years pesto has become somewhat of a trendy food, and most modern restaurants probably have some sort of pesto chicken sandwich on their menu. FYI if you live in LA our favorite pesto friendly sandwich is the Santa Barbara Chicken Sandwich from Granville Cafe.

We recently went home to Wisconsin. For our first night in town we planned a dinner with our girlfriends at Rustique in Green Bay. All we heard was “you have to get the pesto fries” or “the pesto fries are so amazing.” So needless to say, we were excited to try these damn pesto fries! Well they did not disappoint. We have never had anything like them. The menu describes them as “shoestring fries tossed in pesto and topped with balsamic glaze,” which isn’t really accurate. I would probably describe them as “perfectly cut fries tossed in the green sauce of gods, and topped with a gourmet sweet & sour sauce.” ALSO the menu fails to mention that they are tossed/topped with fresh parmesan cheese. How did these Wisconsin folk forget to mention the cheese? Maybe it’s implied at all restaurants. That would make sense.

Carli and I could not stop thinking about these fries, and we don’t know of any place in LA that makes anything like this (if you do, please holla at us). So we decided to recreate this dish on our own!

Ingredients: 

• 3 Cups Frozen French Fries (just enough for one layer on a cookie sheet)- we got these ones from Trader Joe’s
• 1 Tbsp Basil Pesto, mixed with 1 Tbsp Water
• Balsamic Glaze– use as little or as much as you want, since this is just the topping
• 1/3 Cup Shredded Italian Cheese Blend- We just got a pizza cheese blend from Ralphs

Directions: 

1. Bake the fries as instructed on the package. Cool partially.
2. In a mixing bowl, toss the fries with pesto/water mixture and cheese
3. Put back in the oven at 350 degrees for five minutes, or until the cheese is melted
4. Top with balsamic glaze and serve!