One of the best things about living in coastal Virginia is our access to local family owned farms. There’s a great one here that delivers fresh organic, non-GMO greens to your doorstep every single week for a lower price than you’d find in the grocery stores. They offered a $10 POUND of fresh basil so I ordered two… thus beginning our two weeks of basil infused dishes.
By far the best thing to make use of this incredible herb is PESTO. And even though our kids claim to hate most things green, they absolutely love pesto–on pasta they eat it straight or mixed with heavy cream for a creamy pesto.
Easy Basil Pesto
- 3 c Basil Leaves (chopped and tightly packed)
- 3 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 1 t Lemon Zest
- 2 t Lemon Juice (freely squeezed)
- 1/2 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/3 c Pine Nuts (toasted)
- 1/3 c Parmesan (grated)
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Put all ingredients (in order) into a food processor and pulse until well blended. You may need to add in additional EVOO, to your preference. Store extra in refrigerator or freezer. Sometimes when it gets cold it needs a little extra EVOO…when ready to serve you can drizzle in an additional bit of EVOO and stir.
The great thing about Pesto is that it tastes great hot OR cold… so it makes a quintessential lunchbox addition since you don’t have to stress about temperature as much as you would, say, a Bolognese.
What are your favorite spins on Pesto? How do you use it the most?
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