While most of the plants in our garden seem to be growing in size but not producing much due to temperatures hovering in the low 70’s I couldn’t help but notice the size the herbs were getting to be. The basil had grown to what may be considered a “bumper crop”, so I took my kitchen sheers out to our little raised bed and trimmed down the thirteen basil plants to half of their height. When I came inside with my garden basket piled with basil trimmings Ben looked at me wide eyed and asked: “What are you going to do with all of that?” “Why, make pesto of course!” I replied, happily placing the stalks in to a vase for when I could get to them later.
I found this pesto recipe:
Nona’s Pesto from DigginFood.com
What you’ll need:
4 packed cups of fresh Italian basil leaves (I use the variety ‘Genovese’)
3 cloves of garlic
½ cup pine nuts
½ cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
Instructions:
1. In a food processor, blend the basil, garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese into a smooth paste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then, with the blade running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Process until the olive oil is thoroughly incorporated and the pesto is smooth. Give the pesto a taste and add salt if necessary.
2. The pesto will keep for up to a week if refrigerated in a covered container. Bring it to room temperature and give it a good stir before using it in a recipe. To freeze, fill the individual cells of an ice cube tray with pesto and place in the freezer until solid. Then, wrap each cube of pesto in plastic and place back in the freezer. To freeze larger portions, line a small cookie sheet or pizza pan with waxed paper. Drop ¼ cup mounds onto the wax paper and freeze until solid. Wrap each mound tightly in plastic and store in the freezer. Drop the frozen cubes of pesto into soups or sauces. When using frozen pesto in a pasta dish, allow the pesto to unthaw and then stir in a few teaspoons of pasta water before tossing it with the cooked pasta—this helps distribute the pesto throughout the pasta evenly.
We ended up with 2 cups worth of pesto which I separated out into four ½ cup containers and froze half for future consumption. Ben mixed some in with pasta for dinner that night, and may I just say it was quite tasty!
