Presto, it’s pesto!
Those who love to cook know that nothing adds a layer of flavor to dishes than fresh herbs. In July, one of the more versatile herbs, basil, is ready to be harvested.
What can you do with basil? Really, you should be asking what can’t you do with basil?
Basil can be found in two types, sweet and Thai. We’re going to focus on the peppery, minty, sweetness of sweet basil for this blog.
The thing that all basil enthusiasts love is a good basic pesto sauce. Pesto is probably one of the easiest ways to transform basil.
What’s great about pesto is that it’s so versatile.
Add it to fettuccine for a lighter dish for the summer months. Or make your favorite grilled chicken salad and instead of mayo, slather pesto on the bread. Yum!
Oh, and we forgot to mention how super easy it is to make, too?
Once you’re done, you can store the pesto in the fridge. One tip is to freeze your pesto by pouring it into ice cube trays and just popping each one out when you need it.
So for this pesto sauce, we found this great recipe from Spruce Eats.
Classic Basic Pesto Sauce
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves (about 1 large bunch)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup pine nuts (or walnuts)
- 3/4 cup freshly grated hard cheese (such as Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino-Romano cheese, or a combo of the two)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Kosher salt (to taste)
In a food processor, add basil, garlic, pine nuts and pulse into it becomes a green slightly coarse paste. Transfer the paste to a bowl and with a spatula or spoon add cheese, olive oil and salt. Serve. Refrigerate.
Share with us your best basil recipes! And come down and see the fresh herbs we have for sale. We’re open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
