Monday, July 28, 2008

Garden pesto


For those of you who have basil in your gardens, this is a must-try. I think that fresh pesto is so much better than bottled. Roland prefers it to restaurant pesto too. If you need a food-processor, call me!

Pesto Recipe
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano (Kirkland is great)
1/2 cup Olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts
3 garlic cloves


Place the garlic in the food processor fitted with the blade attachment and process until chopped. Add the basil, and the nuts. Turn on and add the oil through the feed tube cup (this will allow it to drizzle in slowly so that the mixture can emulsify). Add the cheese at the end and turn on to combine.

Toss with hot, cooked pasta or drizzle over chicken. A little will go a long way. I like to use just enough to coat, not drown my pasta. 1/2-3/4 cup is usually enough for 1 pound of pasta.

*Air is the enemy of pesto, if you don't plan on using it right away, press some plastic wrap onto the surface refrigerate or freeze. I like to make a few big batches and freeze them in ice-cube trays. it will keep for a few months this way and I don't have to pull out more than I need. It's great for pesto-pizza because you only need 2 cubes for one pizza.

4 comments:

vicky said...

Amie, I am so excited to try this recipe! I had found a recipe for pesto on the internet but it was much more complicated. We love Pesto Chicken Pizza!

The Wards said...

This sounds delicious, unfortunately I don't have fresh basil. Does any one have some to spare from there gardens?? I would LOVE to try this!

Amie said...

I have some basil if you want to try it. Give me a call!

Roshelle said...

I have heard you can add a little fresh spinach to make pesto less fragile in the air, but I haven't tried it yet so no promises.