Homemade Pesto Sauce

If you said that looks tasty, you’d be wrong.  It’s beyond tasty and all the way into fabulous.  If I do say so myself.

Want the recipe?  Read on my friends, read on.

But first know that you will be bombarded with pictures.  I judge cookbooks by their pictures – I like lots of ‘em.

Ingredients:

2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts

3 large cloves garlic

1/2 cup E.V.O.O.

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

pinch of salt

pepper to taste

Begin by toasting the pine nuts.  You can substitute the cheaper and more readily available almonds or walnuts, but the end result is much better if you stick with pine nuts.

Whichever you choose, lightly toast them in a dry skillet over medium-low heat.  As you can see, I actually prefer mine to be more than lightly toasted, but start light until you develop your own preference.

You can put these on the heat with minimal attention besides the occasional stir.

Moving on to the herbs – gather your basil

and parsley

and wash and dry thoroughly.  The parsley is not essential, but if you’re making the pesto to freeze, it helps the sauce retain that beautiful bright green color upon thawing.  If you opt not to use parsley, you may want to decrease the EVOO by a tablespoon or so.

Meanwhile, remove the stems.  (Not completely necessary if you’re in a rush – I’ve done it both ways and was never disappointed)

Place the basil and the parsley in a bag and using a rolling pin, the back of a spoon, or the flat side of your meat tenderizer, pound until all of the leaves are bruised and slightly weepy.  This releases extra flavor and it is key to a superior pesto sauce.  My secret weapon.

The garlic should be blanched.  Again, I’ve skipped this before and it’s ok in a pinch, but the strong flavor can overpower the more delicate herbs and change the tone of your sauce.  A quick 30-60 second dunk in boling water will make an amazing difference in the finished product.  If you are making pasta at the same time, blanch the garlic before you add the pasta to the pot.

At this point I like to use a mini food processor, just the right size for 1-2 recipes.  If you don’t have one you can use a mortar and pestle, the back of a fork, or possibly a really good blender.  I add the garlic to the food processor first, and after it’s finely minced, the pine nuts as well.  I then add the basil and EVOO, drizzling in a little bit at a time.  Finally, the salt, pepper, and Parmesan.  I know it’s very un-fancy of me to admit, but in the sauce, I prefer the powdered cheese.  I use freshly grated to top the pasta, but the powdered kind spreads and freezes better.

The end result:

If you are making this for immediate consumption, one recipe will coat 1 pound of hot pasta.  I like to reserve a bit of the water the noodles cooked in, just to add in and help the spreading consistency of the sauce, but that should be based on personal preference.

I generally top with grilled chicken and fresh parmesan, and serve with hot, crusty bread.  This is a tried-and-true recipe in my house that leaves everyone coming back for more.

[Obligatory kid pictures]

Yes, Catie is eating a tomato like an apple.  She loves them, and she grew that one herself.

And the freezing I mentioned?  Once you try this recipe, you’ll want to freeze some too.  I usually grow several basil plants each summer, and I make and freeze basil every few days all season long so we have a nice stockpile for winter.  Sadly, this year we are already out – and have been for quite some time.

Part of my stash:

It’s that good.

Promise.

Pesto

Spice up my deck!

I love to cook and I love to garden, so combining the two only seems natural, right? Well for me not so much. I’ve never had good luck with herb or vegetable gardens. The veggies are puny and flavorless, the herbs inevitably dry out (my own fault – they actually need watered every day. Just a little FYI)

But hopefully this year will be better! We’re off to a great start so far. I bought more herbs and spices than I ever have before, and I bought cute little pots to plant them in. I figured I’d be more likely to maintain them if they looked pretty. My kids are pretty and I take really good care of them, so I think the logic fits. My husband, after seeing the receipt for said flower pots, was slightly less enthused. But happily the skeptic in him vanished when he saw how festive our deck looks now; in fact, he suggested we buy more! I’m waiting to be sure these survive first.

So here it is, in all its glory – my little garden of wonders:

Cilantro and Tarragon

Greek Oregano, Chives, Basil, Rosemary, more Basil (hello? homemade pesto!), Parsley

No, that first pot isn’t empty, it’s just really S-L-O-W growing Thyme, Dill, Sage, Catnip

And Annie’s strawberry plant, which produces some really tasty berries!

Now my question for you – what can you do with Catnip? I bought it for our two adopted kittens, but as it turns out they are allergic. Is there anything else I can do with it, or shall I just chuck it and buy something else? (and by something else I mean more Basil)