Time to make pesto

[YO!!!]

My basil has about given out. So it's time to harvest what's left and make pesto for the winter.

This year I am using muffin tins for portion control. Once frozen I can place in air tight containers for later use.

Romano or Parmesan gets added during final cooking and not now.

I also use the same procedure but use cilantro instead of basil for the base.

[Too Tall]

My basil has about given out. So it's time to harvest what's left and make pesto for the winter.

This year I am using muffin tins for portion control. Once frozen I can place in air tight containers for later use.

Romano or Parmesan gets added during final cooking and not now.

I also use the same procedure but use cilantro instead of basil for the base.

Neat :) Yrs. ago thru experimentation we discovered that you can have very good results by only leaving out garlic than freezing it.

[BShow]

Cool idea.

Do you guys do anything tricky with the pesto recipe? And the cilantro pesto... what are you doing with that? The wife and I like Cilantro, but don't really use it very often. I mostly buy cilantro for salsa type things and if I have leftovers I'll chop some up in marinades. That's about it. Always open to new ideas for grub.

Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Pine Nuts, Pecorino, Garlic and Basil. Sometimes with some red pepper flakes. Toots - Does the garlic go bad in the freezer?

That's been my standard concoction.

[YO!!!]

Cool idea.

Do you guys do anything tricky with the pesto recipe? And the cilantro pesto... what are you doing with that? The wife and I like Cilantro, but don't really use it very often. I mostly buy cilantro for salsa type things and if I have leftovers I'll chop some up in marinades. That's about it. Always open to new ideas for grub.

Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Pine Nuts, Pecorino, Garlic and Basil. Sometimes with some red pepper flakes. Toots - Does the garlic go bad in the freezer?

That's been my standard concoction.

I experiment with different ingredients as follows:

Pecans and walnuts added instead of pine nuts

Lemon or lime juice for some freshness

I most often toast the garlic and nuts before adding

I use the cilantro based one as a quick sauce base for sauted pork and chicken dishes.

Usually thin it out with sherry or white wine then reduce to desired consistency.

[Too Tall]

We tried several permutations. With and without pine nuts etc. and the no-garlic versions tasted the freshest. After the fact I was told that garlic is notorious for harboring bacteria.

[rec head]

I have tried lots of these ideas and they are all good. For freezing I just do basil garlic and oil. I use it as is or add the cheese and nuts later.

[Bkat]

Try arugula and walnuts. It's available during the winter, a heck of a lot cheaper than buying grocery store basil, and freezes well if you want to make a big batch.

[Dave Wofford]

we like playing around with arugula in addition to/instead of basil.

for the backyard farmers...
Living in NC piedmont area, we have found "Astro" version of arugula to be a fave, it doesn't bolt with heat as quickly as others and has a nice leaf to stalk ratio as well.

I like adding honey to the pesto, helps in the balance of things, you can get away with adding more salt to draw out/intensify basil flavor without it tasting too salty if that makes any sense.

[dang]

We tried several permutations. With and without pine nuts etc. and the no-garlic versions tasted the freshest. After the fact I was told that garlic is notorious for harboring bacteria.

This might seem odd, but I've taken to zapping garlic in the microwave for lots of applications. Mice a couple of cloves of garlic; add to a ramekin with olive oil; and nuke the oil for a minute. The garlic should look and smell cooked (but not singed at all), and if it doesn't, hit it again. Just run the oil through a strainer and you have a lot more lee-way with heat in the pan if you are cooking. For pesto, obviously you don't want to cook the basil, but you can add both the oil and the cooked garlic to the pesto before serving. And for a dish in the saute pan, you can toss in the garlic late in the game.

And yeah, I'd be careful about chopped garlic in jars sitting around.

[echelon_john]

I know I mentioned this in another thread, but we've always made the pesto fully--oil, basil, salt, nuts, cheese, butter, garlic--then frozen it. Never any issue with spoilage/bacteria.

[winmonster]

You guys can actually save fresh pesto? Whenever we've made it, we can't resist using all of it. Basil, olive oil, pine nuts and walnuts, garlic, parmesan, done. Put on everything. The same with cilantro (and I like cilantro), makes me think of stink bug paste.

[Too Tall]

This might seem odd, but I've taken to zapping garlic in the microwave for lots of applications. Mice a couple of cloves of garlic; add to a ramekin with olive oil; and nuke the oil for a minute. The garlic should look and smell cooked (but not singed at all), and if it doesn't, hit it again. Just run the oil through a strainer and you have a lot more lee-way with heat in the pan if you are cooking. For pesto, obviously you don't want to cook the basil, but you can add both the oil and the cooked garlic to the pesto before serving. And for a dish in the saute pan, you can toss in the garlic late in the game.

And yeah, I'd be careful about chopped garlic in jars sitting around.

Outstanding. thanks.

[rwsaunders]

I cheated and used garlic from a jar, but the basil is from my Mother's garden.

[Too Tall]

Gorgeous :)

Check this guy out >> Pesto Recipe | David Lebovitz

[jdhansen63]

I like to add some mint in my pesto (~30%).

[rwsaunders]

It's pesto time tonight boys and girls. Fresh basil from my Mother's garden (again), olive oil, roasted pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. I'll have to arm wrestle Mrs. RW for the first serving. Pardon the vintage Cusinart...it's so old it was made in Japan.

[Shinomaster]

I heart pesto! my GF made a cilantro pesto recently which was really yummy. We also do one with arugula, and of course basil.. She freezes it in a an ice cube tray and the cubes are great for adding to all sorts of things. It's fun to experiment with different herbs. We like the raw garlic and it freezes well.

[shirk]

Had some pasta last night with home made garden grown pesto and tomatoes from the garden.

Great stuff.

[jdhansen63]

This year I had a huge crop of cilantoro so I made cilantro pesto for the first time. I can't recommend it enough.

4-5 cups loosly packed fresh cilantro, clean and dry (or more, I like to add until pesto is bright green)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup EVOO
1/3 cup grated Parm
1/2 cup toasted almonds processed to the size of coarse salt
1.5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tps pepper
Crushed red pepper to taste

Process everything at the same time.

[rwsaunders]

Another year, another start to pesto making....this time the basil is from a small container from our backyard. Basil, roasted pine nuts, minced garlic, sea salt, pepper and olive oil. It smells so good when you pick the leaves as it doesn't get any fresher. Dinner pics to follow.