Recipe :: Fresh Basil Pesto

‘Tis the season for fresh basil, which is a great time to make basil pesto. It is easier than you might think, and it makes great use of the abundance of basil many of us have in our gardens this time of year.

Fresh basil pesto is a delicious and diverse addition to your kitchen. I use it to make flatbread and pasta, and I know it is great on chicken. It also freezes well; I package it in what I approximate to be single servings to take out when the time for fresh basil is past us.

My basil pesto recipe is little different from some of the others you’ll find, but I think you’ll like this version and I know it is delicious.

Ingredients* for Basil Pesto

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic or 2-3 fresh cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground fresh black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Directions for Basil Pesto

1. Wash your basil and pull all the leaves from the stems. You’ll need about two cups for this recipe.

2. Toast pine nuts. They are easy to toast in a pan on the stove, but they are also easy to burn. Use medium heat and stir frequently. You can turn off the heat and let them sit as soon as they start to cook. They’ll continue and finish toasting in the pan.

3. Blanch the basil.** (This is different from most recipes that you’ll find.) Bring water to boil and have an ice bath ready. Drop the basil leaves in the boiling water for just a few seconds. Enough time to submerge them is good enough. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in the ice bath.

4. In a food processor, blend the pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper until smooth.

5. When removing the basil from the ice bath, squeeze as much liquid from the leaves as possible. You should have a nice fist-sized bunch of leaves. Roll this in a clean cheesecloth towel or on paper towels to remove as much excess water as possible.

6. Add the basil to the food processor and blend again until well combined. With a small spatula, scrape the sides of the food processor. Add 1/2 the olive oil, blend, and then add the remaining oil to blend the final time.

Basil pesto stores nicely in a small mason jar like the one in the feature picture above.

*Notice, I don’t use Parmesan cheese in my pesto. I find it stays longer in the refrigerator without it and I don’t really miss the flavor or texture. If you do want to add Parmesan, add about 1/2 a cup of the cheese and cut the salt in half.

**One advantage of blanching the basil is that the pesto tends to keep its rich green color better. Another advantage is that it offers two more “washings” for your garden greens – in the boiling water and in the ice bath. Based on what I see has been left behind, I never regret this extra step.