Recipes from The Clever Skunk: High-dose cannabis-infused recipes for the culinary cannasseur. A collaboration between Skunk Magazine x The Clever Root.

By Christina Wong

“Pass me the cheese?” Rachel asks as she exhales and smoke drifts upwards into the sunlight from the joint in her fingertips.

I pour us a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and she passes the j. I take a deep inhale as we catch up over cheese and wine before dinner, waiting for the high to wash over us before we dive into the food in front of us. The lemon-y pine aromas from the OG Kush we’re smoking is an amuse bouche paired with tonight’s dinner.

I’m starting to feel hungry, like really hungry, and we’re eyeballing the dinner spread in front of us. There’s crusty loaves of bread with creamy butter, a cheese board with soft brie cheese, juicy red grapes, and thinly shaved slices of prosciutto. At the center of the table is a large bowl of Cannabis Pesto Pappardelle Pasta.

I pull the large bowl towards me and gently toss the thick, silky ribbons of handmade pappardelle pasta in with creamy ricotta, green peas, pesto, mint and lemon zest together and onto our plates.

“This looks and smells incredibly beautiful with the green and lemon zest. What did you make?” asks Rachel.

Earlier that day I made handmade pappardelle pressed with cannabis leaves in a hand-crank pasta machine. Each strand of pasta is beautifully pressed with fan leaves that adds a light grassy flavor to the pasta. The sauce is a cannabis leaf pesto. Fan leaves are blended with sweet basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic, and cannabis-infused olive oil to make an infused pesto that tastes better and more complex than the original.

As I bite down on the first forkful of pasta, the creamy ricotta and pesto clings like a thick sauce. There’s a bold aromatic scent from the basil and lemon zest, a funky sharpness from the parmesan cheese, burst of sweetness from the peas and mint, and a slight hint of the unmistakable earthy, skunky aroma of weed.

“Oh-my-fucking-god, this is so good,” Rachel said, smiling through bites of pasta. “Will you share the recipe when we relaunch The Clever Root?”

“Hella yea I will.” I replied and lifted my glass, “Cheers!”

Recipe: Cannabis Pesto Pappardelle Pasta

Pappardelle Pasta pressed with cannabis leaves gently tossed with ricotta cheese, peas, mint, cannabis-infused pesto, and lemon zest.

Cannabis pairing recommendation: Strains high in limonene with citrus-y notes and/or ocimene to pair with basil in the pesto, such as Super Lemon Haze or Lemon Tart.

DOSING: Makes 2 large servings. Double-check the math if your cannabis % THC is different.

Low Dose // 10mg THC per serving: You’ll need a total of 20mg THC in the entire recipe. Approximately 0.15 grams of ~20% THC cannabis flower.*
High Dose // 100mg THC per serving: You’ll need a total of 200mg THC in the entire recipe. Approximately 1.5 grams of ~20% THC cannabis flower.*

INGREDIENTS:

Pappardelle pasta (recipe follows)
Cannabis leaf pesto (recipe follows)
1 cup green peas, cooked and blanched
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
Lemon zest from 1 lemon
Handful of mint leaves, chiffonade
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cannabis-Infused Olive Oil

1/2 cup olive oil
[ * ] coarsely ground cannabis flower* (~20% THC)

Pasta Dough

1/2 cup (64 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and dusting
1/2 cup (60 grams) semolina flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 whole large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon olive oil

Cannabis Leaf Pesto

1/4 cup pine nuts
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 cup fresh cannabis leaves, stems removed
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

For decoration:

15-20 small/medium-sized Cannabis fan leaves or basil leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make Cannabis-Infused Olive Oil*: Preheat the oven to 240°F. Place ground cannabis flower into a pint-sized 16 oz. mason jar, seal with the lid to reduce smell, and heat for 40 minutes in the oven to decarboxlyate, which activates the THC. Remove from the oven and let cool until the mason jar is safe to touch. The ground flower will look lightly toasted.

Reduce the oven temperature to 170 degrees F. Pour olive oil into the mason jar, close the lid and shake or stir to combine. Place the sealed jar back into the oven to infuse for 2.5 hours. After 2.5 hours, remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

2. Make Pasta Dough: On a flat work surface, pour the all-purpose flour and semolina flour into a pile and mix together. All-purpose flour can be used as a semolina flour substitute. Using your fingers, make a well/hole in the center of your flour pile so it looks like a donut. Crack eggs into the well and pour in olive oil. Use a fork to carefully stir and mix the eggs and flour together bit by bit. Use your hands to keep the runny egg mixture in the center. When it forms a shaggy dough, use your hands to squeeze and knead the dough together.

The dough should feel soft and slightly sticky but not dry. If the dough feels too dry, add a little bit of olive oil to moisten the dough. Knead for 5 minutes until soft and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for at least an hour or overnight.

3. Make Cannabis Leaf Pesto: Put pine nuts, garlic clove, parmesan cheese, basil leaves, and cannabis leaves (with tough stems removed) into a food processor. Blend until pulverized. Slowly drizzle in the infused olive oil while the food processor is on until it turns into a creamy paste. Add in lemon juice, salt and pepper, and blend to finish. Set aside.

4. Roll Pasta Dough: Take your pasta dough and cut into four even chunks. Take one piece, cover the other three so they don’t dry out. Lightly flour a work surface and using a pasta machine, roll your pasta into a smooth flat sheet. If you don’t have a pasta machine, you can use a rolling pin to hand roll into thin sheets. Lightly dust the work surface and pasta dough with flour to prevent sticking.

5. Press Cannabis Leaves into Pasta Dough: Lay one flat sheet of pasta down on a floured work surface. Gently press edible flowers and leaves onto the dough. Take a second flat sheet of pasta and place on top of the first, sandwiching the flowers and leaves between the pasta dough. Lift and run the pasta dough through the pasta machine again to flatten and press the florals into the dough.

6. Cut Pasta Dough Into Pappardelle: Sprinkle flour on the pasta sheet and gently fold on top of itself, like an accordion or zigzag. Use a sharp knife to cut the pasta into 1-1.5 inch thick ribbons. Lift the ends of the pasta up and shake it out to get long pasta ribbons. Place into little piles like “nests” and cover lightly with a cloth until ready to cook. Repeat with the remaining dough.

To dry the pasta: Let it sit out uncovered until completely dry. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.

7. Cook Pasta: Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for a minute or two until soft. Fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried. Lift pasta out of the water with a pair of tongs and into a large bowl.

8. Make the Dish: Gently toss the cooked pasta with pesto. Add a little pasta water to help make a silky sauce. Transfer pasta into individual bowls/plates. Garnish with peas, ricotta cheese, lemon zest, salt and pepper.

Articles