Garden/Pesto

Today was one of those glorious days. I woke up to sun and a blue sky, but when I stepped out to go to the farmer's market the sky turned black. It dumped rain for hours. I never made it to the farmer's market.

Around 3:30 the rain came with renewed vigor. The sky was again dark as though the sun were going down. Then, all of a sudden, it was sunny and warm.

I made pesto.

I started taking out my garden once it warmed up today. My basil had never done as well as I wished, but there was enough of it today to make one last batch of my favorite sauce.I never measure anything for this recipe, but if it's your first time making it, or you just like measuring things, you can start with this recipe:

2 C fresh basil from your garden
1/3 C pine nuts or walnuts
1 clove garlic
1/4 C grated Parmesan (if you can't do dairy, I've subbed pancetta to get that full flavor, or a little bit of dry gluten-free bread for texture)
1/3 C extra-virgin olive oil
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
ground white pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend with the blade until smooth. Scrape down the sides as necessary and blend some more.

Before you serve, be sure to taste it and add anything that you think it lacks. It shouldn't feel dry in the mouth - this means it needs more oil. If it feels oily in the mouth, it may need more Parmesan or basil. You can add another clove of garlic if you think it needs some extra zing, but be sure to process it thoroughly.

Cook your favorite gluten-free pasta, rinse with hot water, and serve the pesto on top at room temperature.

Comments

l'actrice said…
Nothing better than a freshly made pesto!
October 17, 2009 at 9:21 PM
Lauren said…
I haven't made pesto in such a long time! Thanks for reminding me about this delicious dish =D.
October 18, 2009 at 9:18 AM
Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free said…
I have more basil ready for pesto - I keep looking at it and thinking, hmmm, I need to do that before it frosts. I still have some in the freezer from my pesto making escapade this summer.

For some reason, my basil just grows like crazy. I must have just put it in the right place by accident.
October 21, 2009 at 8:47 AM
Gina said…
I was hoping my basil would grow like crazy - it never did. My sister's basil went bonkers, though. She told me the trick to making it bush out is to cut off the flower heads on top. I never knew that!
October 21, 2009 at 8:05 PM
Linda said…
My basil has never done as well as I would like either, but next year I'm putting it in a different place. I love pesto.

The soup theme is the week after next on Nov. 4. Thanks for linking up.
October 22, 2009 at 6:40 AM
Diane-The WHOLE Gang said…
I love pesto. It is wonderful on so many different foods. I love to use it for a chicken salad, on polenta squares for a snack and mixed into a bean salad. I like how you offer up an option if someone doesn't have pine nuts. Looks great. I eat dairy free so I make mine with no Parmesan. It still tastes good if you add a little salt that's missing with no cheese. OK, now I want pesto.
October 22, 2009 at 7:51 AM
Diane-The WHOLE Gang said…
Didn't know how else to contact you so I'm leaving a comment. Thank you for sharing a link to my blog. I really appreciate that. Just an FYI, I post every day so the feed you have is not updating. I'm not technical so I wouldn't even know how to fix that but I thought you would like to know.
October 22, 2009 at 7:54 AM
Jenn/CinnamonQuill said…
I like the idea of using breadcrumbs in place of the Parmesan!
October 22, 2009 at 8:10 AM
Brian said…
I love pesto. It's great to use garden fresh basil. Thanks for sharing.
October 22, 2009 at 9:25 AM
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