Sear meat in pesto?

[henrikbe]

Hi,

I'm going to cook steaks tomorrow. I have some parsley pesto, would it be a good idea to sear the meat in the pesto? I figured, since pesto is mostly oil, maybe it could work?

[visciole]

Agree, it will burn. Why not sear it in oil and then drizzle the warmed pesto over the cooked steaks?

[valerie]

+1.

[perk]

+2.

[luciaannek]

Do this!

[hotoynoodle]

+ more. you'll burn the pesto otherwise. sear the steak and then dollop the pesto on top. it's not something that should be cooked or even warmed.

[chefj]

if it contains cheese and nuts i would expect it to burn and it will not adhere to the meat. So I think you would end up with steamed meat and burnt pesto in your skillet.

[ediblover]

The high heat required for searing would not be good for the ingredients in the pesto. The flavor would be altered (a burned flavor).

[kengk]

It sounds like a bad idea to me. Maybe somebody who has actually tried it will correct me... For all I know it may be a renowned technique.