The lovely green sauce with tastes and fragrance of the summer is what I think of pesto. Most often used as a flavoring for pasta or with fresh mozzarella and garden tomatoes you can utilize this sauce for many other things.

Mixed with mayonnaise it becomes a great dip or sandwich spread for grilled vegetables, you can mix it into vegetable soups for extra flavor, add some more oil and vinegar to make a salad dressing or drizzle over a variety of grilled or poached meats or fish.

We always grow basil in the garden and many times it just grows wild and there are bushels of it but summer goes by quickly and with October comes cold nights and the end of basil season. While you can always purchase fresh basil, there is nothing better then picking it fresh from the garden on a sunny summer morning which is when it is at the height of fragrance and aroma.

Making pesto is pretty quick and simple, you just have to pick the basil, clean it, toast the nuts and get the ingredients together. I do not make it with a mortar and pestle but rather a blender and you can use a food processor as well. It’s important that you remove the stems so you avoid having fibrous strings in the pesto. Pulse and process well but avoid running the machine for a long time as it can get mushy and dark, keep blending to a minimum after you add the cheese. Making smaller batches can be successful in managing blending time but you also need to keep enough product in the blender so it actually mixes and processes well. If you make a lot, it’s easy to freeze for the rest of the year.

Pesto

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Recipe by admin

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Calories

kcal

Total time

0

minutes

When making this recipe, use the leaves and discard all the stems, pack the 2 cup measure pretty tight and make sure to toast the nuts – whichever kind you decide to use. Pine nuts are often traditionally used but almonds and walnuts are commonly used as well. I like using some pistachios and often mix varieties of nuts. The addition of lemon juice helps to lift the basil flavor, acts as a preservative and keeps the color from turning dark.

Ingredients

• 2 cups 2 Basil leaves packed

• 1/2 cup 1/2 XV olive oil

• 1/3 cup 1/3 pinenuts, almonds, walnuts or pistachios – toasted

• 2 cloves 2 garlic – smashed or minced

• 1 Tbs 1 lemon juice

• 1/4 tsp 1/4 fresh ground black pepper

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 salt

• 1/4 cup 1/4 fine grated parmesan

Directions

• Wash the basil leaves and spin or pat dry. Measure out all your ingredients.
• Put the oil, garlic, lemon juice and nuts in a blender and add about 1/2 the basil leaves, start on low and work up to medium and high. Pulse occasionally to blend well. When the basil leaves are ground and incorporated, add more making sure they get mixed in. Pulse to mix in well but avoid running the blender too long as it will heat the pesto, make it mushy and dark.
• Season with pepper and pulse in the parmesan, add the salt and taste to adjust seasoning.

Equipment

• cutting board, small frying pan for toasting nuts, paring knife, grater, bowl for washing basil, salad spinner, measuring cups and spoons