Fire and Smoke: Pesto & Goat Cheese Stuffing

By Pat Crocker
Published on August 18, 2011

Pesto & Goat Cheese Stuffing

MAKES 2 CUPS

Moist stuffings add flavor and keep foods from drying out over the heat of a grill.

• 1 cup Basil Pesto (below)
• 1 cup goat cheese

1. Toss together Basil Pesto and goat cheese and tuck the mixture beneath the skin of chicken breasts or pile into upturned Portobello mushroom caps before grilling.

Basil Pesto

MAKES 1 CUP

This pesto is used in several recipes here, all of which are great on the grill.

• 2 to 3 large cloves garlic
• 2 cups basil leaves, washed
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts (or sunflower seeds)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup virgin olive oil

1. Chop the garlic in a food processor or blender.
2. Add the basil leaves and process for 30 seconds.
3. Add the pine nuts and Parmesan cheese to the bowl and, with the motor running, slowly pour in the oil.
4. Use more or less oil depending on the thickness desired.
5. Spoon the mixture into a clean jar and cover with a lid.
6. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Click here for the original article, Fire and Smoke.


Pat Crocker, home economist and culinary herbalist, photographs, lectures, and writes about food and herbs. Author of three cookbooks, including The Healing Herbs Cookbook (Robert Rose, 1999) and The Juicing Bible (Robert Rose, 2000), Pat enjoys grilling with her family every summer.

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