Yes, You Can Make A Delicious Pesto-Like Sauce From Strawberry Stems
Be honest, when you bring home a carton of fresh, ripe strawberries, do you find yourself cutting as little off their top as possible — heck, even eating some of the leaves? It just makes sense to waste as little of these plump little red darlings as possible. Well, good news: You don't have to waste any part of your strawberries. You can use their tops (with a little of the cut fruit still attached) or just the leaves to go into a pesto-adjacent sauce. By now you should already know that it pays to make your own pesto.
This is because of the fact that not only are strawberry leaves edible (a safe assumption given that this is a food site piece about them), they have a delicate herbal taste and are decidedly nutritious. So, they most definitely have a place in a blended olive oil, nut, herb, and parmesan cheese mixture to top your next panini or get stirred into a bowl of steaming pasta. There are a couple of different strawberry-top pesto strategies, and both involve the leaves and that sweet little sliver of fruit left on the top.
Strawberry top pesto is as healthy as it is tasty
The most instinctive way to make pesto with strawberry tops is to literally throw them in with your other traditional pesto ingredients. They'll add a touch of herbal sweetness without taking over the proceedings. Another approach is to think of the strawberry tops as more of the star of the show, structured and supported by an herb such as flat-leaf parsley. If you go this route, feel free to switch up some of the other ingredients, too — say, substituting walnuts for pine nuts; that sort of thing.
Strawberry leaves are not just a good thing to eat: They're a regular superfood, full of antioxidants, Vitamin C, and anti-inflammatory properties. They also contain significant amounts of anti-microbial compounds called polyphenols. The small amount of tannins in strawberry leaves (besides imparting that pleasing, slightly bitter taste) promotes digestive health by helping to relieve pain associated with gas and cramping.
Waste not, want not (and eat better too)
Since strawberry tops (and berry leaves in general) are so healthy and nutritious, they've found themselves in more dishes than just pesto. The leaves are used to make teas, tinctures, and infusions. They get tossed on salads, turned into smoothies, and used to flavor kinds of vinegar. (Strawberry-balsamic vinegar, anyone? Sounds amazing.) Once you've got a handle on their flavor and texture profile, you'll probably think of a few more uses for strawberry tops.
So, go right ahead and make that strawberry top pesto — and just because you should be eating more strawberries anyway. It will prove to not only be a tasty revelation but hopefully an inspiration for what other ways you can put this newfound treasure to use; one that would otherwise have been scraped unnoticed into the compost or trash. It's great when food can satisfy your stomach, spark your imagination, and stretch your budget all at the same time.