Pesto

I’ve professed my love of pesto here before and despite ODD’s hatred of anything basil-related both my children love it, too.  Since good fresh basil can be hard to come by in Utah grocery stores I planted some this year to see if I could kick my brown thumb and actually make it grow.  To my great surprise I didn’t kill it and have quite a bit to use.  As the leaves have grown big I’ve picked them off the plant and made them into pesto.

I didn’t know what pesto was until I’d been married a couple of years.  I never had it growing up but I saw or heard about it someplace – probably The Food Network – and decided to give it a try.  Since it’s come to my attention not everyone knows what pesto is or how to make it I’ve made up a little tutorial for you to follow.

A few notes: I prefer a more oily pesto.  The kind you can buy in a jar at the store is usually more thick and basil-y.  All measurements in this recipe are approximate.  I don’t think I’ve ever made it exactly the same twice in a row and that’s okay.  This is cooking; not baking.  Measurements don’t have to be precise.  I just put in the amounts that look good to me so these measurements are rough guesses.  Consider this a jumping off point and make adjustments until it’s the way you want it.  Also, as opposed to regular pestos I don’t put parm in the sauce itself because I feel like it gets lost in all the other flavors and is a waste of a yummy but kind of expensive cheese.  Instead I wait until the pasta is plated, then I grate it over the individual servings.

Pesto

• Basil – if I buy it at a store I use all the leaves from one bunch but from my garden I use anywhere from 8-15 leaves.
• 2-3 Tbsp. Pine nuts, toasted – you can do this in a frying pan on the stove in just a few minutes.
• Garlic – I use a full small clove or cut a larger one down.  Remember it won’t be cooked so it will be strong.
• 3/4 C. Extra virgin olive oil – since it won’t be cooked you want the fruitiness of the extra virgin oil.  Regular or light olive oil just isn’t the same.
• Salt and pepper
• Parmesean
• Pasta – I prefer farfalle (bowtie) and use a full pound for the amount of sauce this recipe makes

Throw the cleaned basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, and salt and pepper into the bowl of a food processor.

Blitz it all up until everything’s about the same size.

Add the olive oil and blitz some more.  You should add the oil while it’s running but my little processor doesn’t make that easy so I just add it all at once and it isn’t the end of the world.

Pour over hot pasta and toss.  When your ready to serve grate some parm over the top.  If your children are anything like mine they’ll scarf it down.  Peanut usually has two or three little bowls full before she’s done.

Last fall I saw in Jessica’s photostream that she had bottled some pesto sauce.  I looked around online to see if I could find some directions on how to do it myself but all I could find was info saying not to can it because of botulism.  So I emailed Jessica and asked how she’d done it.  She told me she hadn’t actually canned it but put it in jars and kept it in her freezer.  So now that I have a freezer of my own I used all the basil I’ve grown and made quite a few batches, threw it in bottles, and put them in my freezer to use for later.  My plants are now about ready to go to seed but I think I can get a couple more batches out before it isn’t good anymore.

As a little sidenote: When my basil first started coming up I was surprised by the way it looked.  I knew basil leaves didn’t look like this and wondered if I’d planted the wrong thing or was just growing weeds or something.  As it turns out, the first leaves that pop up don’t look anything like the real leaves that come later and the same thing happened with all the other herbs I’ve planted this year.

First leaves.

Real basil leaves.