Lemon Thyme and Ginger

My Favorite Basil Pesto Recipe

My Favorite Basil Pesto Recipe

It is October and that means I need to trim my herb garden and use up all the annual herbs before the temperature drops below 50°. It would break my heart if they went to waste, especially my basil. I have four basil plants and after a rough start they grew, continuously producing new stems and leaves for my pleasure. I was not so fortunate last year. What a difference having an herb garden makes. I can select the amount of herbs I need, and pick them when I want them. Nonetheless, it is time to use it or lose it. Fortunately, the best way I know how to use up a bunch of fresh basil is make basil pesto.

Summer Vegetable Steak Salad with Spicy Citrus Dessing Recipe

Sweet Basil Pesto recipe

There is nothing like a fresh herb pesto to add bright herbaceous pizzaz to pasta, vegetables, and fish or chicken. Usually, I also add in an extra leafy green vegetable or herb, like arugula or spinach, when I make basil pesto. The additional greens add extra body and texture to the pesto. Spinach leaves really softens the basil flavor and smooths the pesto. Arugula’s peppery bite brightens the basil flavor. Both versions taste delicious. For my recipe if you want to omit the arugula, go ahead. This is a classic basil pesto recipe, if you omit the lemon zest and arugula there is no need to add in more basil leaves to supplement it.

Pesto has three essential ingredients: basil, olive oil and freshly grated cheese. The quality of these ingredients influences to the flavor of the pesto. I always recommend buying the best quality food or product you can afford. This is especially true for the olive oil. For pesto, an all-purpose extra virgin olive oil is fine to use. There is no need to buy top shelf extra virgin olive oil, save that for salads. I use California Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil for my every day use and I am very happy with the flavor. Unfortunately, the labels on olive oil are misleading and not regulated. 100% olive oil is often not 100% olive oil.  For more information about buying olive oil, here is an article about how to find real olive oil at the grocery store. Also, here from Business Insider.

My favorite basil pesto recipe.

 

Sweet Basil Pesto recipe

Other than the fresh herb in pesto, the freshness of the grated cheese impacts the flavor. The traditional cheeses in pesto are Parmesan or Romano and sometimes both. I use Romano cheese for its sharper flavor, and it’s less expensive than Parmesan. Whichever cheese you use, only use freshly grated cheese. If possible, buy a chunk and grate the cheese at home. Parmesan and Romano cheese are expensive, but they last a long time. If you need to buy grated cheese, buy the cheese that is grated at the store. It is a lot fresher than buying factory grated cheese with preservatives in it.

Want more herb sauce recipes? Check out my recipe for Rolled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

Sweet Basil Pesto recipe.

Every Italian cookbook author, says never to cook Basil pesto. In general I follow this rule, unless I am grilling salmon with pesto (without cheese). Any level of heat will darken the color of the basil, dull its flavor, and diminish the scent. For best results, serve pesto at room temperature, stirred into warm pasta. When I make it, I make a batch and freeze it before adding the cheese. That way if I need it for pasta or to garnish a soup, I can use the pesto either with or without the cheese. Stir in the cheese a little before adding the pesto to your pasta dish. This will allow the ingredients to meld and the cheese to absorb the oil and basil.

Enjoy.

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My Favorite Basil Pesto reicpe

My Favorite Basil Pesto

Homemade basil pesto is bright and bursting with fresh basil and flavor. I like to add an additional green herb or leafy vegetable, like arugula or spinach to help balance the basil flavor. If you are making a lot of pesto and want to freeze it, omit the cheese. Store the pesto in an airtight container with a layer of olive oil over the top to protect the basil. The pesto will keep in the freezer for up to three months. Defrost the basil pesto in the refrigerator and add the grated cheese before you use it. Pesto is delicious stirred into pasta. This recipe makes more than enough of sauce for a pound of pasta.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 3 /4 cup (200 ml)
Author Ginger

Ingredients

Basil Pesto

  • 2 cups lightly packed (38 g) basil leaves cleaned, dried, and stems removed
  • 3/4 cup (20 g) arugula cleaned , dried and stems removed
  • 1 clove garlic chopped
  • 1/4 cup (27 g) pine nuts lightly toasted
  • Zest of half a lemon
  • 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup (40 g) freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, or a blend of both
  • Little squeeze of fresh lemon juice if needed to brighten the pesto*

Instructions

Basil Pesto

  1. Place the basil leaves in a food processor and process until the leaves are slightly chopped. Add the arugula and process with the basil to combine.
  2. Add the garlic, lemon zest, Kosher salt, and pinenuts and pulse until an even consistency is achieved.
  3. Add half of the olive oil and process until smooth. Using a rubber spatula scrape down the sides of your food processor and stir it around. Add more olive oil until you reach the consistency you want. Taste and correct seasoning. Before you add more salt, remember the cheese is not added yet and is salty.
  4. If using soon, pour the pesto into a small bowl and stir in the grated cheese. Start by adding half the cheese, stir and taste. Add more cheese as you wish. Regrigerate the pesto without the cheese until needed. Add the cheese to the pesto before using.
  5. Stir the specified amount of pesto into your favorite pasta and serve immediately.
  6. Pesto is best used immediately or the day it is made. It will last for a week in the refrigerator, or freeze, without the cheese, for 3 months.
  7. Never heat up pesto. Heat causes the pesto to change color and the flavor lose its intensity.

Recipe Notes

*Adding an acid like lemon juice could change the color of leafy greens and other vegetables. If you feel the pesto needs to get brighter, add a little squeeze of lemon juice just before using.

© 2017 – 2018, Ginger Smith- Lemon Thyme and Ginger. All rights reserved.

2 Comments

  1. Perrin Smith

    October 7, 2017 at 5:58 pm

    This is a good one!

    Reply
    • Ginger

      October 9, 2017 at 12:58 pm

      Thank you Perrin. I love pesto and like the bright flavors of this recipe.

      Reply

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