Tamra's Lemon Artichoke Pesto

I really liked this. But wow, that's a lot of garlic! I used 5 good-sized cloves and had to eat like 5 peppermints after dinner to get rid of the taste- lol. But it's worth it! ;) I made this and then boiled some pasta (whole wheat rotini and mini penne) and mixed the pesto with the pasta right after draining. (I used 8 oz. pasta and most of the pesto sauce with it- probably have a little over 1/2 cup leftover). I'll probably use the extra as a dip. I used jarred artichokes and omitted the canola oil. In it's place I added 1/4 cup water mixed with a tiny dab of "Better than Boullion". Then I added one large spoonful of the oil from the marinated artichokes I used. I mixed everything in the food processor- adding the artichokes and cheese after everything else was smooth, so that I could leave them semi-chunky. I also used basil instead of cilantro- I had it on hand. And I used the juice of 2 lemons. This was easy, different and tasted great! We had the pesto pasta with broccoli and breadsticks.

I find this to be a inexpensive alternative to traditional basil pesto. It has a different, but just as enjoyable, taste. I left out the canola oil (using only the 1/2 c olive oil), used about 1/2 c cilantro, used only about 3 garlic cloves, and substituted pecans for walnuts. It was great!.

Excellent recipe! I made this as an appetizer for a dinner party and served it with French Bread. It was so delicious that I made it AGAIN two nights later for an office dinner function! Loved the combination of the walnuts and the artichokes!

This was actually very spicy, but VERY good. I used canned artichoke hearts because I have never seen frozen ones. It sure was good.

This was awesome. I have seen this in a jar at Trader Joe's but knew there had to be a recipe out there. A bit too garlicky so next time less, and I too used basil and pine nuts. SO good!

whoops! I accidentally made this the same but with basil instead of cilantro and it was WONDERFUL! Thanks x

Fresh and delicious (and yes, garlicky!). I did use 8 cloves of garlic, but they were very small cloves. If I was making this again, I would probably use 4 regular-size cloves of garlic and have plenty of flavor. Still, it's all in the preference of the consumer. I loved this pesto, garlic breath and all. Thanks for the recipe!

This is awesome pesto! I'm not a huge garlic fan, so I cut the garlic down to one large clove and it still had a nice garlic flavor. I also added cooked, shredded chicken breast. Yum!! Thanks for the recipe!

The garlic makes this pesto very spicy. My husband, who claims he hates garlics, loved this before the aftertaste of the garlics hit him. He still wants me to make it though, but without the garlic next time. I made a pasta salad with it and took it to a picnic and all my friends loved it.

I serve this cold with pita chips or bruschetta..always a hit. Has such a great flavor. Thanks for posting!

this recipe is amazing! And it makes A LOT of pesto

I misread the directions and added the artichoke to the food processor so I ended up with a yummy hummus-like paste. I'll add a cup of the starchy pasta water to make more of a sauce. I agree with the other comments that this is VERY garlicky, and I only used 5 cloves. Otherwise nice flavors!

Excellent! I used basil instead of cilantro like another reviewer, and I couldn't find frozen artichoke hearts at the store, so I used an 8 oz jar. Added to about 3 cups cooked cubed chicken, made an absolutely divine chicken salad.

pretty good! as others have stated, i cut down the garlic to 4 cloves, and it was still quite garlicy (and i LOVE garlic). i kept everything else the same, but it came out a little to oily for my liking. i have not ever seen frozen artichoke hearts, but i had a jar of marinated ones, which i washed off the seasonings before chopping. thanks for the alternative to a traditional pesto. i really enjoyed my pasta!

This was SO great! I was looking for a way to use my new food processor and I was so plesantly surprised with this quick and easy fix. The amount of cayenne was just right for us, though I might take it down to a 1/4 tsp if you don't care for spicy flavor. We used canned artichoke hearts, which worked well, and used some pine nuts as well as walnuts because we had them on hand.

There is way too much garlic and it overpowers the rest.

My husband thinks this is the best pesto he's ever eaten. I also used canned artichokes, and I used romano/asiago instead of the parmesan for more flavor. Super!

It was good but not outstanding. Found it a bit bland for pesto. You may need to use more cilantro and garlic to give it more kick but it could just be personal preference. The artichoke were a nice addition.

This was pretty good and fairly easy (we did it without a food processor so the consistency was a little off). Like others, we used basil instead of cilantro and just our two garlic cloves seemed a little much. We forgot to put in the walnuts, but I bet that would help counter some of the garlic.

a nice light pasta dish, with a little twea might work well as a cold noodle dish

Well, i am not a pesto expert but this doesn't seem to be great. The lemon juice and english walnuts made it quite bitter. I added about 1 tsp of sugar and this seemed to help some. I cut back on the garlic to 4 cloves but that was still WAY TOO MUCH!!! i suggest only 2 and i am garlic lover. I used 14 oz of artichokes because i had to try and cut the over-garlicky taste. Overall, this recipe needs serious help. I think i am going to use the leftovers as a base for spaghetti.

I used regular marinated artichokes as I've never seen frozen ones. Delicious!

Very good, but like many others have said...8 cloves of garlic is a lot. I only used four and that was still way too much. I am a garlic lover, but I will only use two cloves next time. Otherwise, I really liked this!

I changed up the recipe quite a bit, but it turned out delicious! I threw everything in the food processor including the artichokes, then stirred the parm cheese in at end. I had no lemon juice, but would have liked to add it and will next time. I also used ONLY Olive oil. I used only 1 garlic clove and it was PLENTY. as many have mentioned, 8 sounds like it would overpower everything. I also added 5 sun dried tomatoes to the food processor... yum! I had no walnuts, so used pine nuts and left out the cayenne for the kids. Used jared artichokes and they were fine. Also added a good bit black pepper. I felt the cilantro got lost, didn't taste it, so next time think I will add more and/or try with fresh Basil instead. I served this over pasta. I did add about 1 cup of pasta water to the pesto to thin it out, so it would nicely coat the pasta. Husband and both kids (age 6 &4) loved it! I have a small amount of the pesto that I set aside that I might use today as a spread or in a cold pasta salad. It's very versatile! Great recipe idea!

Everyone loved it!!

As a pesto on pasta, this was too strong for us. As an overnight marinade for some chicken thighs that we broiled, it was great.

Super zesty and easy to make. I'll definitely be making this again.

Pretty good, not really a pesto sauce though! But I love lime and cilantro

I guess I'm just not a pesto fan.

This was just okay for me... I'm usually a fan of strange flavor combinations but not this one. The consistency is nice and works over pasta but I'll keep looking for different pestos. Sorry!

Very good. Next time I will omit the canola oil, though.

This is wonderful! I added bay scallops- a perfect dinner!

The combination is lovely! Just be forewarned that while the sauce may taste a bit 'strong' without anything else, once you toss it in some pasta and chicken it's perfect!

I made the recipe with pine nuts because I didn't have walnuts and it was amazing! I'm sure it would be great with walnuts too. I recommend this to everyone who wants to toss a bunch of stuff into a Cuisinart and make a QUICK dinner that is GREAT!

It was okay. I love artichoke and this wasn't the best showcase for it.

This is a great recipe! I used less garlic (only three large cloves) and it was plenty. I served this on slices of whole wheat baguette, topped it with a bit of mozzarella cheese and put it in the oven on broil. It made great appetizers.

TOO MUCH GARLIC! I was making this event for a pot luck. I doubled the recipe, but when doing this I decided 16 cloves of garlic was too much. I cut it down to 10 (equivalent of 5 in the original recipe). This was still WAY TOO MUCH garlic. I had to heat the sauce a little, add more of all of the other ingredients to make this edible: I didn't want to be the one responsible for ruining everyone's breath at the pot luck. Other notes: You can use canned artichoke hearts, they're just as good, cheaper, easier to find, and less work. After remedying this recipe by cutting back on the garlic, this is awesome. When I make this recipe again, I'd use 3-4 cloves of garlic max. This recipe has excellent flavor, and it's an excellent budget pesto.

OK - Seriously - waaaay too much garlic! I changed it to 4 large cloves and probably would have been ok with 1 or 2. I used pignolia (pine) nuts instead of walnuts - and think that if I ever try it again with a lot less garlic I'd probably like it :) I added romano to the parmesan and think I'd try adding a little cooked spinach next time as well.

This was good but a little overpowering. I only used 1/2 cup olive oil.