Pesto with a twist

We eat a lot of pesto in our house, but I'm never the one who makes it. At least, that's how it was until last night. 

That's when I found the recipe that follows (in one of our many cookbooks--sorry, I can't remember which one) and made the decision to give it a go--mainly because it required just a few ingredients and it looked interesting. 

The end result was better than David or I could have imagined. It tastes like the traditional basil-and-pine-nut pesto you're used to, but with an intriguing twist.

Almond-Tarragon Pesto

1/2 cup blanched almonds

3 cloves garlic

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups fresh tarragon
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup oilve oil

Dump the almonds, garlic and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until you have a chunky paste. Add the tarragon and red pepper flakes and pulse a few more times to combine, then stream in the olive oil (while continuing to pulse) until the mixture is the consistency of pesto.

Toss with a pound of cooked pasta and cubes of pan-fried tofu (or the protein of your choice). Top with roasted almonds or pine nuts.