Fresh pesto is one of those summer treats that I remember longingly during the winter months.  It doesn’t have to be that way.  With a little prior planning, and my freezer, I intend to eat fresh pesto in December. 

Today I picked a lot of fresh basil from my garden.  Click “My Garden” here or at the top of the page to read about picking basil.

Pesto is easy to make, especially if you go the technology route and use a food processor.  Traditionally, pesto is made using a mortar and pestle.  Starting with garlic and slowing adding each ingredient as you roll the pestle against the mortar walls.  I don’t own a large mortar and pestle.  I also think that how you grind the pesto isn’t as important as the quality of the ingredients. 

I used a traditional pesto recipe, from Genoa in Northern Italy. Fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, raw pine nuts, fresh garlic, parmigiano reggiano, and pecorino romano.  The better quality ingredients, the better the pesto will taste, that’s my thinking. 

If you grow your own basil, pick the smaller leaves for pesto making and save the larger ones for garnishes.  The younger leaves are sweeter.

Traditional Pesto

3 cups lightly packed fresh basil (organic if possible)

2 cloves garlic (organic if possible)

1/4 cup raw pinenuts

1/4 cup finely grated parmiaiano reggiano

1/4 cup finely grated pecorino romano

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (very important)

pinch of salt (if you’re not using the cheeses, I think these cheeses have plenty of salt on their own)

When using a food processor, put all of the ingredients, except for the oil, in at the same time and pulse until it’s just ground.  Slowly add the olive oil while pulsing the pesto until it’s comes together.  Prolonged processing with cause it to heat up too much and “cook” your pesto.  This is meant to be a raw sauce.

Eat immediately, or fill an ice cube tray with fresh pesto.  Freeze for two hours and then remove the cubes and store them in a zip lock bag or some kind of covered freezer container.

You can defrost the pesto in your refrigerator, but bring it to room temperature before you use it.  If it’s a little thick, you can add a bit of olive oil or water to help it along.  I used less than the typical amount of oil in this recipe.  Always add it at the end of any recipe, so it doesn’t cook.

Pesto has many uses beyond semolina pasta.  I like to use zucchini (spiral sliced) instead of pasta for a raw salad.  It’s great on rice, as a spread on bread or mixed with yogurt for a vegetable dip.  It can be made vegan by replacing the real cheese with soy parm.