Good Reads Library
Reasons to Make Your Own Pesto--And A Recipe
1)Homemade tastes far, far, better than any you can buy in a jar!
2)It's isn't hard to make--all it takes is 5 minutes with a blender or food processor. Magically, your basil leaves, oil and garlic turn into a smooth green paste.
3)It's endlessly useful. Add it to anything tomato based, to pasta,to pizza, to summer veggies.The list goes on and on......
4)It will keep well in your fridge in a tightly sealed jar. Or it freezes well. You can put small dabs into an icecube tray, freeze them, and keep the cubes for anytime use.
5)Fresh basil is in season right now and you should be able to get it at most supermarkets. And if tomatoes are in at your local farmers market, chances are there will be big bunches of basil there too.
(Make sure you get "Genoa Green" type basil for your pesto. There are many types of basil, and flavors differ greatly)
6)Homemade pesto can be adjusted to your taste. Like it smooth? I don't add pinenuts or walnuts to my recipe--it's fine that way. Add tons of garlic if you're are lover of the "stinking rose" (or married to one!) or make it mild as can be. Your kids may even eat it--SC tried mine recently and wolfed down a big bowl's worth!
So try my recipe, tinker with it, and enjoy it. And if you need another recipe to use it in, I'll have one of our favorites later this week....
PESTO (Oringinally adapted from Jane Brody's Good Food Book)
This can be doubled if you have lots of basil, though make sure your food processor/blender is big enough to hold it all. You can add walnuts or pinenuts as you like--we prefer ours smooth. Salt can be added if you want it--but with all this flavor,who needs it?
3 cloves chopped garlic (about 1Tbs, and the jar garlic works fine)
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil (extra virgin if you're feeling like a gourmet, but the regular oil is fine for this)
2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves (remove stems where possible)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (again, if you're a gourmet you can fuss, but the green can stuff will be just fine here)
Combine 1/4 c oil and the garlic in your processor/blender and mix to combine.
Add some of the basil leaves and process. As the basil leaves blend into the oil, add more and continue to process until all the leaves have been blended into the sauce. Add more oil if you think it needs it. Pesto can be as smooth or as chunky as you like!
Blend in the parmesan.
Refrigerate any unused pesto in a tightly sealed jar. The top may brown, but you can just stir it in--it's fine. Yields about 8 oz of pesto.
