Algerian Orange Mint Pesto is a unique, untraditional pesto made with herbs, mandarin oranges, and citrus and is perfect for pasta, coating meat or making this delicate crostini.
But this pesto – damn. It’s from Ally Phillips’ new cookbook, Ally’s Kitchen – A Passport for Adventurous Palates.
I recently posted these burgers from her book, which were outstanding, but I couldn’t wait to make something else from it.
This just so happened to be blog worthy, as well.
Ally, you make it really hard for us wannabe-cookbook-writers.
You’re a hard act to follow.
I’m just sayin’.
This pesto, combined with melty Gruyere cheese and fresh tomatoes on little toasts make a fantastic little crostini.
How is Algerian Orange Mint Pesto Unique?
Algerian Orange Mint Pesto is definitely not your typical pesto. I think most all pestos have complex flavors, but this one is really has a multidimensional flavor profile.
My 16-year-old daughter found my stash in the fridge today – she’s a huge pesto fan – and she put it on ziti.
She was in LOVE.
The first thing she said was, “Momma, there’s so many different flavors in this, it’s SO good!”.
Yep…orange, lemon, mint, etc., and you get some nice heat from the chili flakes and cumin. This is something you want to keep in mind when you want to impress some dinner guests.
Wait, screw that.
Just keep it all to yourself.
Algerian Orange Mint Pesto Crostini

Ingredients
Orange Mint Pesto:
- 1 cup mint leaves
- 1 cup parsley
- 1 cup cilantro
- 1 small bunch chives
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. red chili flakes
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 3 tbsp. balsamic glaze (I actually used balsamic vinaigrette)
- 2 tbsp. minced garlic
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 3 tbsp. lemon zest
- 3 slices bread
- 1/3 cup drained Dole mandarin oranges (reserve juice)
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp. pine nuts
Crostini:
- French baguette, sliced thin
- Gruyere cheese, sliced
- Plum tomatoes, diced
Instructions
- Combine mint leaves, parsley, cilantro, chives, cumin, red chili flakes, salt, pepper, balsamic glaze, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, bread and mandarin oranges in a food processor.
- Pulse for 2-3 minutes, until a thick mixture is formed. If the mixture seems too thick, add some of the reserved mandarin orange juice until it's a pesto like consistency.
- Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and pine nuts.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Slather the pesto on slices of the baguette, top with cheese.
- Place in oven for 3-5 minutes, until cheese has melted.
- Top with tomatoes and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 282Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 845mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 3gSugar: 8gProtein: 11g
The provided nutrition calculated may not always be accurate.
9 Comments
Minnie@thelady8home
May 14, 2015 at 10:46 AMYour daughter is so right. This indeed sounds flavourful and delicious. Mixture of flavours, sounds very interesting.
ally
May 12, 2015 at 10:39 PMShea! I love that your daughter could discern those ‘different’ flavors…wow, what a refined palate, and adventurous at that…love it! Your addition of cheese is fabulous! xo ~ally
ally
May 12, 2015 at 10:40 PMI agree, Chrystal…everything about this crostini is luscious, including that plate! 🙂
Shea
May 13, 2015 at 12:18 AMAlly, my daughter definitely has quite the palate – her gift for me for Mother’s Day was a day at the Farmer’s Market and cooking!
The Duo Dishes
May 12, 2015 at 6:18 PMSaw this one in the book, and I wondered all about these flavors. So happy someone made it! And love that plate too. Very pretty.
Shea
May 12, 2015 at 6:24 PMThanks so much! As far as the plate – I found it at a thrift store here for 2.99 – my very favorite place to shop for blog props.
Adam J. Holland
May 12, 2015 at 4:56 PMBeautiful. Just absolutely beautiful. If you’re not careful, you might just become more refined cooking from Ally’s masterpiece. These are an outstanding start! Wow!
Shea
May 12, 2015 at 5:52 PMThank you, Adam!
ally
May 12, 2015 at 10:38 PMHa ha…Adam, me thinks Shea’s already doing some pretty ingenious boho’ing…I mean the guyrere…oh, how I’m hankerin’ for one! I’m seconding your big wow!! 🙂