PESTO!
And on Sunday Ed had bought out the farmer's market of all their basil. He worked hard on prepping the leaves. And yesterday while the boys played outside, windows were open so I could hear them having fun with the neighbors, I finished the task.
My recipe I got from my friend Molly's mom. She actually took an afternoon, a few years ago, and showed me her ways. It requires some of this...
Ingredients:
2 cups packed fresh basil
1/4 cup pine nuts ( I use walnuts)
3/4 cup Parmesan or Romano cheese..I use Parmesan
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
3-4 fresh garlic cloves for 1 pound of pasta
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Process all ingredients in your food processor until well combined. Refrigerate if not used immediately. When serving, bring to room temperature or slightly heat. Add to 1-2 pounds of pasta. Serve with additional cheese.
Now our family LOVES this meal. I make a batch and actual split it up into four ounce little containers and freeze them. So our pasta is only lightly covered in the pesto. Since a single batch makes a few small containers for our family. My boys prefer pesto covered pasta to red sauce.
I also will freeze batches in ice cube trays, pop them out and keep them in zip bags in the freezer. Then when I want to add it to a sauce like alfredo (the best!) or mayo for a sandwich spread, I have smaller quantities to deal with.
Our farmers market is loaded with fresh basil right now and they sell it in large bunches for a dollar. I have found that it is cheaper for me to just buy it rather than starting it from a small plant. The cheapest way would be to of course start it from the seed. But I just haven't gone that far yet.
Pesto is a favorite...and now we are stocked for the winter. We have 17 meals of it in our freezer. And if I can swing it I will will do another batch. Because when I am stumped on what to make for dinner...I love hitting up our stash of pesto for an easy and healthy-ish meal.
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3 comments:
Amazing!
yum. I'd love to see a picture of the finished product on the pasta. I don't think I have ever had pesto pasta before.
I love, love, love pesto, but I've never had much success making it myself. I will definitely have to try again.
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