spicy oregano in abundance

Kay, so I went through a bit of an oregano phase last year and in my over zealous, blinded by love for forgotten flavor state I planted 3 kinds of oregano around the backyard. Sounds kind of normal right? One would think. But oregano turns out to be a perennial and unlike basil which withers away with the first sub-50º night, oregano marches on. And now my 3 huge plants are living large on composted soil and threatening to take over a good portion of both the vegetable patch and the strawberry barrel.

One of the joys, and there are many, of growing food in your yard is that you are often compelled to eat what's knocking down the back door. Which forces you to get creative with your meals, instead of eating the same things all the time. LUCKY for me right now all I have to manage is a wily herb and handful of delicious berries. Check back with me in a few months when the squash are taking over the kitchen counters.

So I was thinking how delicious would spicy oregano pesto be? I realize that not many people have the spicy variety readily available, but I think as long as you have a good fresh bunch of the "normal" kind, you could throw in some wild arugula and get a similar effect.

Spicy Oregano Pesto

a lot of oregano leaves, preferrably spicy mixed with whatever other varieties you have
a smattering of basil leaves, if you have
some decent quality olive oil
handful of toasted walnuts
2 heads of crushed garlic
fleur de sel (or flor de sal, depending on country of origin. my current favorite is spanish so there)
freshly ground black pepper
(I left out the cheese because I have a cold, but obviously a bit of aged, salty cheese would do well here)

Put everything in a food processor (or mini food processor if you have one, trés ideal for little things like pesto and dressing). Process. I added a teeny bit of water to help things along.
And voila!

I tossed mine with Orecchiette pasta, broccoli, and chard, (because that's what I happened to have in the fridge) but it's also great by the spoonful, alone.