Unlike me--Basil loves the heat
The long hot summer is finally over–but don’t tell my basil crop. I’ve got enough beautiful new growth for another batch of pesto–just three weeks after cutting these plants back “hard”.
I love pesto. And this is my last opportunity to stock my freezer for the cold months ahead.
It’s one of those things I make without a recipe. Many years ago, Chef Titina at Capri Flavors (the Italian market and cooking school in Morrisville) taught me how to “eyeball” my pesto. (Titina never measures but cooks by taste, practice, and instinct)
Over the years, I’ve varied the portions to suit our liking–but I still don’t measure. My advice to pesto makers is JUMP in. Pesto contains 5 great ingredients. It’s hard to go wrong.
And if you don’t do nuts, try combining and freezing just two ingredients: your homegrown (ground) basil and good Olive Oil. It’s a wonderful taste of summer for pizzas, pastas, soups and salad dressings.
Here’s a video about how I learned to make pesto in Italian cooking school. It’s just a little over 4 minutes–
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September 30, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Melissa Blaisdell
What a great video. I love Pesto too. I made some this week actually. I was able to make it with my home grown garlic. Talk about fresh!
You will be happy to know I did 2 batches with pine nuts this time and 2 batches with pistachios…i love the earthiness of the pistachios and they are cheaper than pine nuts. But classics work too. Next time I am going to try walnuts.
While the recipe and tips were great, the best one by far is the freezing for the cold months. I remember when you passed that along last year. I swear there is nothing like a little taste of summer in the dead winter.
m
September 30, 2010 at 2:14 pm
christineramsey
Thanks–great info about the nuts. You are inspiring me to make another batch of pesto today. You know, some people freeze the pesto or ground basil and oil in ice cube trays. Cover them with foil and dump the cubes into a zip top bag or container so you won’t get freezer burn. This is a great way to make little bursts of flavor to drop in pasta or soups. You taught me to keep a “soup bag” in the freezer. All my left over vegs go into minnestrone (which is good enough for company, I might add) A dollop of pesto on the top makes it really special. Ice cube hunks would be prefect for this. C
September 30, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Melissa Blaisdell
Brilliant. I am going to try that ‘lil trick!
July 15, 2011 at 3:44 pm
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[...] Classic Basil Pesto–Buy it ready-made or use your own. I make and freeze lots every year, so I always have homemade pesto around. (Here’s an old post on pesto ) http://youshouldgrowthat.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/basil-bounces-back-quickly-plus-a-video-how-to-mak… [...]