Now that the harvest is here, I have basil in abundance. The most logical thing to do with it in my eyes is make pesto. Now I really don’t follow a traditional recipe, I’m more of a bash it all together girl. So if you want exact, then look away!
Pesto
- 1 clove of garlic
- basil-A few big manly handfuls!
- olive oil
- Salt
- 1 pestle and mortar (great for bashing)
Honestly everything is to taste. If you love garlic then by all means add as many as you can tolerate. I have three types of basil growing in my garden, I use all of it (purple, sweet and Italian). As for the oil, I really like an oily soupy pesto, so I use quite a lot. I start by chopping up the garlic, doesn’t have to be perfect, just chopped a bit. Toss it in the mortar and bash it up with a bit of salt, This will get the garlics juices flowing! Add a bit of basil and make an almost paste with it. When you are at that stage add more basil and a good glug of oil, so the two can blend. Keep adding basil and oil until it all comes together, add the oil when you feel it needs help marrying. Once the two are cohabiting nicely, you’re done.
How to use
Pesto is great on all kinds of meat, or drizzled on veg. I love it on pasta!
Once the pasta is cooked I save some of the starchy pasta water, and drain the rest. Melt some butter in a pan, add the pesto and some starchy water until it forms a sauce of sorts. Add in as much pasta as you like, use more starchy water to loosen if you need. Once the pasta is coated then add some cheese. If you put cheese in your pesto, it will just make a big mess at the bottom of your pan/pot (thanks Christine for reminding me!) Voila!
So tell me, what will you do with your basil harvest?