Summer elicits scents of lemons, freshly cut grass, and the fragrance of herbs growing in the garden. Sage, thyme, mint, oregano, and rosemary grow in large pots on a patio crafted from pavers. Yet my favorite of the summer herbs can be found in two oblong planters on my deck, within easy reach of the kitchen. Basil finds its way into caprese trays, salads, omelets, even sandwiches.
How does one keep the flavor of summer all year around? Pesto! The word is derived from an Italian word (pestare) meaning “to pound; to crush.” Traditionally, basil leaves are crushed in a mortar. My version (as with many other home cooks) uses a blender. The hardest part of making pesto is … well … there isn’t a hard part!
Late in Spring or early summer I buy four-to-six basil plants, put two or three in each of two containers on my deck, and sit back and watch them grow. Of course I water them. If the plants look a little droopy I add more water and they perk up as if to say “hey, thanks!” when the stems are six-to-eight inches tall, I clip them and start the process. I just finished my second batch of pesto for the year. My pesto is frozen into cubes using a large ice cube tray. Once frozen, I put a cube into a snack bag and place all the snack bags into a freezer bag marked with the date.
Supposedly, pesto lasts two weeks in the refrigerator or six months in the freezer. Frankly, properly storing the cubes allows me to stretch the use of the sauce throughout the winter; that is, if any is left! Of course you can buy pesto but homemade omits preservatives. Plus, isn’t there just a little bit of pride that swells in you when you declare “I made that!”
I cannot begin to list the many ways I have used pesto, but here I am providing a few suggestions.
- Mix into dips. Mix pesto into sour cream, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or guacamole
- Serve over baked brie
- Drizzle over breakfast eggs
- Turn waffles/pancakes into savory breakfast fare
- Replace pizza sauce or use as a base for flatbreads
- Bake into bread
- Spread on slices of bread or bruschetta and top with tomatoes or tuna or white beans
- Mix with mayonnaise or use as is on a sandwich.
- Make a pesto schmear by mixing it with cream cheese to serve on bagels
- Stir into grain, rice, or chicken salads
- Thin with more olive oil or vinegar for a salad dressing
- Whisk into buttermilk for an Italian version of ranch dressing
- Replace butter with pesto to garnish vegetables
- Serve on baked potato
- Season grilled steak, pork chops, chicken fish, meatloaf or meatballs
- Garnish a soup; or mix in while simmering soup
- Make pesto fritters (1 cup each ricotta and chopped spinach; ½ cup flour, ¼ cup grated Parmesan, and pesto; ½ teaspoon baking powder. Chill 30 minutes. Deep fry until golden, about 4 minutes. Serve with marinara
- Mix with butter
- Slather on corn
- Spread onto baked sweet potatoes
- Mix with tortellini, linguini, ravioli, — any kind of pasta. Add veggies!
- Add to green beans with juice of ½ a lemon
- Mix into potato salad or egg salad
- Add to hummus
- Make pesto croutons
- Mix into Caesar dressing for a Pesto Caesar salad
- Bake a quesadilla with pesto, mushrooms, and veggies
- Slather on a grilled cheese sandwich
- Dab grilled peaches and burrata with drizzles of pesto
- Slather on grilled corn-on-the-cob
- Add to tomato soup
- Mix with tartar sauce for salmon cakes
- Spoon over swordfish, shrimp, etc.
- Add to white beans along with extra garlic and pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Mix into cornbread batter
- Serve with fries
- The possibilities are endless … and, YOU can think of some more!
Pesto is traditionally made with pine nuts, basil, pecorino, parmesan, garlic, and olive oil. Now other combinations of seeds, herbs, cheese, and oil are making their way into the sauce scene under the moniker of pesto. Those combinations, I will save for another foodie post. Enjoy!
Silver Sage Sisters 