Today I had the urge to make pesto. Our basil plants are flourishing in the heat and if I don’t start using the leaves soon they’ll go to waste. And that would be a shame.
Pesto is really easy to make as long as you’re not being a purist about the process. Yes, I could use the mortar and pestle but the food processor does the job quicker and easier. I used Stephanie Alexander’s recipe from The Cook’s Companion and it basically consists of basil, pine nuts, olive oil, salt and garlic whizzed up in the food processor, and then you stir in freshly grated Parmesan cheese. That’s it. And you end up with green goopy deliciousness. Too easy!
Tonight I had it dolloped on a grilled field mushroom, topped with melted swiss cheese. Tomorrow it will be dolloped on grilled chicken salad, for lunch. It’s also great with poached eggs or stirred into scrambled eggs (green eggs anyone?!). Of course it’s a natural with pasta but its also delicious with cheese toasties. And minestrone (though its not really soup weather at the moment).
How’s my back? Well since you ask(!), it feels a lot better. Sitting still sucks (or more precisely, getting up and moving after sitting for any length of time) but otherwise I do believe I’m on the mend. Tomorrow morning I’ll head to the pool (with the physio’s blessing).
‘As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life.’ – Buddha
I love pesto!
I haven’t tried it mixed in with scrambled eggs, but I put a small amount onto toast, then top with scrambled eggs – yummy!
Either way its great. And it’s good for you (in moderation). Made with homegrown basil, the taste is awesome.
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I’ve got some herb seeds to plant when the weather gets a bit better, hopefully I can enjoy some homegrown, homemade pesto later this year
Good luck with your basil. I can vouch for homemade pesto
. I think we started with punnets rather than seeds.
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My herbs never seem to flourish that well
This is the first year that the basil has decided to grow (we have more in the garden). Usually our basil is a miserable specimen. All I can put it down too is the hot weather we’ve been having.
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