Taste Life Blog

This summer I have enjoyed my herbs more than ever as we stayed home most weekends.

Basil is my favorite herb and I spiced up my evening green salads with basil leaves or a chiffonade of basil. I have also added finely chopped basil to soft butter and used it on corn on the cob.

Pesto is an easy way to use up the rest of your basil in your garden and if you freeze it for later use, it reminds you of your savory summer. This recipe takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.

3 cups packed fresh basil leaves
5 cloves garlic
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts

Optional Chopped parsley

Combine basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil and nuts in the bowl of a food processor. Blend to a smooth paste. If you don’t have three cups of basil substitute some chopped parsley. My basil suffered a blight this year and I did not even have three cups left at the end of the season.  So, I subbed in about ½ cup parsley and actually enjoyed the flavor more than all basil pesto.

I like to serve pesto with my favorite 3 ingredient salmon recipe and a fruit salad.

Serves  4.

I used regular pine nuts which are about $19.99 per pound. Organic pine nuts are $29.99 per pound.  My favorite place to buy pine nuts is in Honolulu at the Aloha Stadium Flea Market on Saturday. I used to get bag of pine nuts for a couple of dollars. Sweet! Airfare these days to Honolulu would really boost the price of this dish today! You can also sub in walnuts which would be much more economical!

Storage

• Store in the fridge.
• If you are not going to use the pesto right away, place in a container with a tight lid. Pour a little olive oil on the surface to cover it completely to create an air-proof seal that will preserve it longer.
• The pesto will keep in refrigerator for about a week, or you can freeze it and it will last for 3 to 6 months.
• You can freeze the pesto in ice cube trays. When frozen just pop the cubes out and put them in a freezer bag. Take out one or two cubes when you need them. Pesto is great served over chicken or fish or tucked into your favorite lasagna or pizza recipe.

Cooking with Basil

Add basil near the end of the cooking process, so it will retain its maximum flavor as the oils in basil are highly volatile.

A Few Quick Serving Ideas from World’s Healthiest Foods

• Combine fresh chopped basil with garlic and olive oil to make a dairy-free variety of pesto that can top a variety of dishes including pasta, salmon and whole wheat brushetta.
• Enjoy a taste of Italy by layering fresh basil leaves over tomato slices and mozzarella cheese to create this traditional colorful and delicious salad.
• Adding basil to healthy stir-fries, especially those that include eggplant, cabbage, chili peppers, tofu and cashew nuts will give them a Thai flair.
• Purée basil, olive oil and onions in a food processor or blender and add to tomato soups.
• Enjoy a warm cup of invigorating basil tea by infusing chopped basil leaves in boiling water for eight minutes.

Source: www.whfoods.com