Homemade Pesto

It has been great weather to grow basil this year. I have been making a lot of pesto for the freezer.

Picked and ready to blanch....



I blanch the basil for about 10-15 seconds in small batches. This really helps bring out the color and helps preserve the color when I freeze it. It also mellows out the flavor so that it is not so overpowering.



Shocked in ice water......



When ready I wring it out like a dish rag to remove the water and it is ready for the food processor. My recipe is 4-cups of basil, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/3 cup pine nuts, 4-6 cloves of garlic, dash of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. Blend all in a food processor until you reach the desired consistency.



I freeze the pesto without the parmesan cheese in small ziplock snack bags. I mix in fresh grated cheese right before I serve it. Here is a small plate with the pesto and some added olive oil and vinegar for dipping bread.

Lucky you! Looks really good, and what a great idea you just gave me for freezing basil!

Blues, I don't blanch mine... What do you feel are the benefits of blanching?

I've done it both ways. Blanching mellows out the taste a little bit (family found the unblanched basil a little to strong for their taste). I have found that after freezing the pesto, the blanched sytle retained the bright green color better than the unblanched basil. They some this way and let us know what you think.

VeraBlue said:

Blues, I don't blanch mine... What do you feel are the benefits of blanching?

Click to expand...

Beautiful pics, BM. Bet it was delish. Hadn't thought of blanching, but like the idea. Sometimes the power of the basil can be overwhelming. (Think I'm going to whip up a batch of broccoli pesto for ziti w/ cherry tomatoes & parm., etc. soon.) Thanks for sharing.

Beautiful, Blues!

Yours is MUCH brighter green than the stuff that my Italian neighbors make and give to me, so it must be the blanching.

Lee

I made pesto for the first time in years, since the neighbors who always gave me some of theirs have inexplicably stopped talking not only to me, but to all of our other neighbors.

So, I harvested the last of my basil plant and used Frugal Gourmet's really quick, easy and delicious recipe (his first book, page 128).

I did not blanche it.

Mine only filled a little artichoke heart jar.

Lee

Frug's Pesto

4 cups basil (-ish)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large cloves garlic
6 sprigs parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup Parm cheese

Put all the stuff in a blender and blend.