Pesto - Fantastico!

Fresh Basil

Anyone who knows anything good, knows about Pesto.  Its expensive to buy, time consuming to make and the ingredients are expensive.  That being said, here is a recipe that will not break your bank and will make you fall in love with the simple Basil plant.

Generally the ingredients for pesto are:

Basil
Pine Nuts (expensive)
Reggiano Parmesan Cheese (expensive)
Olive Oil (Expensive but you should buy it by the gallon anyway)
Kosher salt

In this recipe, I am going to keep only the most important ingredients - The Basil, Olive Oil and Salt.  Everything else is just fluff.

Basil Leaves in the food processor with salt and oil

If you have the ability, grow Basil in your garden.  If you don't have room for a garden, grow it in containers on you patio or terrace.  Its doesn't need a whole lot of care, just water and sunlight.  What I'm trying to say is procure yourself a lot of Basil.  The amount that you have will condense down to 1/3 of what you started with.

Dig out your food processor, you can can even use a blender, but I recommend a food processor.  After you pick and wash your Basil, spin it in a lettuce spinner and place ALOT in the food processor, like all the way up to the top.  Sprinkle with Kosher Salt - 2 teaspoons and add a generous dose of Olive Oil.  Put the top on and pulse the processor until the Basil mills down.  Take the top off and scrape the sides.  Pulse again.  Empty into a large bowl and fold in some cracked black pepper.  Taste for salt and put into storage containers.  One word of caution, you will have to work kind of quickly.  The Basil will oxidise and turn dark, so once you get the Basil milled down and in your bowl, add a dollop of oil to keep it from being exposed too much.  You can freeze this for up to a year. 

1/3 of what you started out with

 When you want to use the Pesto, get it out of your freezer, place in the microwave to warm it up. After you boil your pasta, add some Olive oil to the bottom of your pot add your pesto, add your pasta, toss to coat.


Garnish with grated Parmesan Cheese and enjoy!

As always, love your kitchen, it'll love you back!