My best pesto yet
What a blessing it is to have a generous work colleague and friend who must live in the perfect microclimate for growing things. Ginger is an expert with roses — and now a magician with basil and other good things too. She brought me a bag of the most beautiful basil, zucchini, cucumbers, plums, and fresh oregano.
I had some yellow and red bell peppers from Kaiser Permanente's new organic farmers market at the national program headquarters in Oakland. With addition of a little garlic, fresh mint from my own yard (it grows itself), and some whole wheat pasta, my wife and I had a spectacular meal.
All I did was saute thinly sliced zucchini and peppers with minced garlic in some olive oil adding the minced fresh oregano, salt, and pepper. I tossed this with cooked whole wheat pasta and served it with a large dollop of pesto. Thinly sliced cucumbers topped with chopped mint accepted a Meyer lemon vinaigrette for the salad. Thank you, Ginger. This meal was wonderful.
When we do the nutritional analysis, we will post it with and without the cheese. There's a lot of fat in pesto, but it is mostly "good" fat in the version without the cheese. Also, you don't need a whole lot of it to enjoy its wonderful flavor. Use a little of this on pasta, fish, chicken, or crostini. Here's to summer.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 4 cups tightly packed basil leaves
- 5 small to medium garlic cloves, minced. (I have used too much garlic in the past)
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- Optional 1/4 pine nuts — ours was great without
Directions
- Pulse the basil leaves and garlic in a food processor.
- While running, drizzle in the olive oil and process until smooth.
- Add salt and pepper and adjust seasoning.
- Blend in cheese.
- Store refrigerated in an airtight container and use within 2 to 3 days.
- Don’t saute it as it will turn an ugly color.
- If you make a bunch of this, you can freeze it in baggies or an ice cube tray for another month of the year when your friend’s garden is dormant.