OH~ to have such a problem!
I can eat basil on sandwiches or in a salad. It is perfect on pizza... 
but there is nothing better than a fresh basil pesto.Pesto
3 cups fresh basil
1 cup fresh Italian parsley
3 garlic cloves
2 tsp lemon juice
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil (more or less)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
To make the pesto, toast pine nuts and garlic until lightly browned. Pack basil and parsley with lemon juice, garlic and pinenuts into a blender. Puree, adding olive oil through the top until the pesto becomes a beautiful green, smooth paste. Add freshly grated parmesan and pulse to blend. Salt and pepper to taste, depending on the saltiness of your cheese.
To store the pesto in the fridge, cover with olive oil to prevent oxidation. The oxidation process is what causes your pesto to become dark. Some sites even recommend quickly blanching the basil leaves before blending to keep that beautiful bright green color. To freeze, use snack size baggies and squeeze out all the air to keep the color.
My pesto doesn't usually last long enough to worry about the color!
Y'all enjoy!
Sandi
8 comments:
Thanks Sandi for the tip! I've got Basil like you would not believe!
oh how I love pesto
Carol~ now you know what to do with it.
Char~ there is nothing like fresh pesto.
Fresh pesto - perfect. I also use quite a bit with sliced heirloom tomatoes, basil leaves, mozarella cheese, salt, pepper, and olive oil. I've heard some add balsamic vinegar also. Enjoy.
Julie~ my favorite caprese salad! It just tastes like tuscany.
Fresh basil from your garden...now that's a real blessing!
I agree that there is nothing quite like fresh pesto. For a little change every once in a while I like to add a little cream to my pesto and toss it with fun shaped pasta. Delicious!
I need to harvest my basil too. It is growing way out of control!
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