vidalia onion greens pesto

Inspired by Sarah Britton's Totally Wild Leek Pesto, I jumped at the sight of Vidalias with their stems still attached. This pesto topped a salt-rubbed & grilled steak, cooked rare & savored very slowly... partly because we still haven't invested in steak knives & partly because the pesto is a bit spicy but perfect with well-aged beef. What do you top with pesto?

Vidalia Onion Greens Pesto
Ingredients:

• 5-8 cloves garlic, roasted
• 3 Vidalia onions (use just the leaves for a sweeter pesto)
• ½ cup pecans, lightly toasted (cashews or pine nuts also may work)
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:
1. Roast garlic cloves in foil on 350 for 10 min (toaster oven does just fine). Lightly toast pecans in a dry pan until they are just starting to turn golden on one side. Remove from heat.
2.  Wash the onion greens well by submerging them in a large bowl of water and swishing them around. Drain and spin dry. In batches, blend greens with roasted garlic in a food processor. Mixture will be very moist.

3. Crush toasted pecans to the size you prefer; I used a coffee grinder to chop them very finely. Add pecan crumble to the onion greens & stir; drizzle in the olive oil until a desired consistency is reached. If you like your pesto a little smoother and creamier, add more oil. Taste to adjust seasoning.
4. Serve. Can be stored in the fridge for 4 days (but it loses nutritional potency with every passing day) or in freezer for 4 months.

Yields: about 1 pound of pesto!