I can also smell the delight of fresh mint and lavender, plucked from the late afternoon sun in my sister’s herb garden. Topping it all is the fresh, bright scent of the green toppers off the sun-ripened tomatoes that I just finished sorting and washing as my final chore of the night. It’s fresh, and sharp and sweet. My hands smell like summer and so does my kitchen.
It's been a long week and I'm glad to be back at the old homestead. For the past few weeks work has just never really stopped. It has been one issue after another and I'm ready for people to settle the hell down already...but so be it...it is what it is, and so I come home nightly to the galley dreaming of simple, delicious, healthy food that isn't going to sit like a brick in my gut. Honestly, we did eat take out a little this week, but that's just how that cookie crumbled. It really made me realize, that while take out and restaurant food can definitely be tasty and I appreciate the convenience, I prefer my homemade food best, even if it's just a simple plate of scrambled eggs or a grilled cheese sandwich.
Tonight was a very pleasant evening. The kitchen is back in order and sleeping man is upstairs and so I thought I'd take a handful of minutes to share the easy beauty that is homemade pesto...not difficult whatsoever and definitely worth whatever I had envisioned "the bother" to be in making it.
Fresh Basil Pesto
- 2 C. fresh basil leaves, packed
- 1/2 C. freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano Cheese...I used the Kraft powder stuff...it's what I had, sorry, no snooty shredded cheese here tonight.
- 1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 C. pine nuts or walnuts (surprise! who knew you could sub the walnuts???)
- 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper...or just the big tankard of black cracked pepper from Costco will do...
The basil came fresh from the sunshine of my sister's garden this afternoon on my way home from work, so I washed it and then snipped all of the good looking leaves with my kitchen friends...the scissors. It takes a few minutes to get this done so plan accordingly. You don't want any of the woody stems in your pesto.
Combine the basil with the pine nuts in your food processor. If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first before adding the basil. Add in the garlic and pulse a few times more.
Slowly add in the olive oil while the processor continues to pulse. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides with a spatula. Add the cheese and pulse again until blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.
I served it with linguini which I cooked while prepping the pesto. I also prepped and served a fresh garden salad with homemade oil and vinegar vinaigrette.
TIP: My pesto browned due to oxidation, which I had no idea that it would do. I did a quick google search and I found the explanation and how to prevent it at http://www.thekitchn.com/good-question-w-4-12832 The quote is as follows:
"To prevent oxidation, I blanch the basil leaves for a few seconds in boiling water until they turn bright green. Remove the basil from the boiling water, shock it in ice water and pat completely dry on a tea towel, then proceed with your pesto recipe. Acid of some sort can also help. Try squeezing in a bit of lemon juice."
Next time, I will definitely use a touch of lemon juice to see if that helps. This was delicious and everyone went back for seconds. Easy, tasty, and if you have a crazy abundance of basil in your garden...or in your neighbors, or your sisters, definitely something fast and easy to perk up a simple plate of pasta for dinner.
Happy Eating! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment