Basil Pesto

By christoph

Making pesto is a great way to enjoy some of your summer bounty. On pasta, as a pizza sauce, a burger topping, or a sandwich spread, pesto brings a fresh summer flavor to any dish. Pesto is also very easy to freeze for later.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup pistachio nuts
• 3 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups good quality olive oil
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preparation

Step 1

Start by picking the leaves off of the stems of the cut stems of basil. Discard any leaves that have apparent damage. Wash the leaves in cool water and place on a towel to dry.

Place the nut in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse 4 – 5 times or until finely chopped. Do not over process as you will make nut butter.

Rough chop the garlic and add pulsing 2 time to incorporate.

Add the basil, salt, and pepper. Add about a half of a cup of olive oil into the food processor and pulse. Add the cheese, and continue to stream in the remaining oil while pulsing until you have a thick bright green paste.

Storing your pesto:

Pesto can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for weeks. Float a small layer of olive oil over the top of the pesto to prevent it from turning brown.

Pesto is also easy to freeze. Many people fill ice-cube trays with the pesto and then transfer the frozen “portion-sized” cubes into a freezer bag.

I use my mini muffin pan to freeze my pesto. I found that often one cube was too small, and two was too much. After the cups are frozen, I wrap each on with cling wrap and then place the “pesto muffins” in a large freezer bag. Pesto will easily last 6 – 8 weeks in the freezer.