By June of this year I already had more basil in my garden than I knew what to do with. For my first large batch of freshly harvested basil, I embarked upon a first pesto making venture. I settled on pesto because it will keep for at least a week once it is made and can be used in many different recipes.
The first night I ate my pesto with pasta. The following day I had a bit with left over rice, and later that evening I slathered some on a fresh piece of French bread that I picked up at the grocery store. It was delicious beyond belief! I will have to say that pesto, like salsa, might actually get better the longer it sits.
Upon first taste I felt as if the garlic and walnuts were too strong, which led to a few last minute additions to the recipe. After adding these ingredients, I finally developed a flavor that was truly satisfying. By day two, the flavor had developed more and was even better than the first day. I would encourage you to make the pesto the day before you wish to use it or at least making enough so you have left overs for the days to come!
Free Range Chick Pesto
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh basil
7 sprigs fresh parsley*
4 medium sized garlic cloves
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup walnuts**
salt and pepper to taste
lemon juice to taste
*Parsley is not a normal ingredient in pesto, but I had some that needed to be picked and used, so I
decided to add it into this batch of pesto.
**Pine nuts are traditionally used in pesto, but walnuts are a cost effective alternative. They provide a nutty flavor at about 1/4th the cost of pine nuts.
Method:
1. Prep all ingredients
2. Add walnuts to food processor and pulse until the walnuts are chopped. You can then add the basil and parsley and pulse again. Add garlic, pulse a few more times. Make sure all ingredients are chopped thoroughly.
3. While food processor is still on, add the olive oil (slowly and continually), being sure to pulse at the same time. Once olive oil is evenly mixed, add cheese and blend until smooth.
4. Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste***
***Due to the sharpness of the garlic and walnut combination, I decided to add a bit of lemon juice to the food processor, and was pleasantly surprised at how it brought the flavors together nicely. In total, I added approximately 1 TBS of lemon juice, but added a splash at a time, blended, and tasted. Let your tongue tell you when you have enough lemon juice in your pesto. Same goes for salt and pepper. I rarely add salt to my recipes, but am very generous with the black pepper.
Check back later this weekend for recipes that use pesto.
