Thursday, June 9, 2011

Pesto

Summer is here--well not according to the calendar, but according to the thermometer...

The community garden is alive and well...for now--I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on it for the summer, so it's only a matter of time before things go south. The basil crop is out of control; I cut a gallon bag of basil and didn't even make a dent. I left with about $15 of basil while it only cost $5 to buy into the garden. Now, that's an investment!

I lived in the sorority house during my third year, and the catering service would make a creamy pesto and pea pasta salad--pesto mixed with mayonnaise, whole wheat penne, and peas. Everyone went crazy over it. There were always girls crowded around the bowl of pasta, and in the rare event that there was anything left from lunch, it got devoured as a late-night snack circa 2:30 am.

Pesto is a simple, fresh way to add a ton of flavor to anything--use as a spread on a sandwich, toss with pasta, add to your pizza (mix with the regular pizza sauce or add to a white pizza), add to your spaghetti, spread on a crostini and top with parmesan, or brush on chicken before baking and wrap with bacon and top with crumbled feta. Toss it with tortellini, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and broccoli for a crowd-pleasing pasta salad. It will be the hit at any cookout you go to this summer, and you don't have to worry about a dairy-based pasta salad spoiling.

I tossed this batch with brown rice--I needed something gluten-free--and served it room temperature as a side--not too shabby. With the leftovers, I tossed in steamed peas and sliced grilled chicken.

If you are fortunate enough to have a ton of basil on your hands, make the pesto, and freeze it for times when you don't have such fresh ingredients on your hands. It will add nice, springy flair to a winter evening when only a comforting bowl of pasta will do. Such nights seem far, far away as we are hitting record temperatures all over the nation this week...


3 cups fresh basil leaves, washed and removed from stems
1/3 cup toasted pecans (or pine nuts (the traditional choice) or walnuts)
1/3 parmesan, shredded or grated (I left this out)
juice from one lemon (I had to cheat, because I didn't have a fresh lemon on hand)
olive oil, enough to bring it together
2 cloves of garlic (next time I will try roasted garlic for a more mellow flavor), sliced
salt and pepper to taste


Add all ingredients, reserving the oil, to a food processor and pulse. Add the oil through the spout of the food processor with the motor running. This will help everything some together and keep from separating.

Serve as you desire!

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