Howdy pwm...theres a search function on the forums here at gw, and I took the liberty of searching "pesto". Here's a link with the results; tons of recipes and ideas on that topic. Happy reading...Lynn

Here is a link that might be useful: Herbs forum Pesto search

Herbalynn, thank you so much. I have not passed Searching 101, and you have been a tremendous help.

My favorite way to make pesto is with half nasturium leaves and half flat-leaf parsley and toasted pecans. I also roast the garlic in the olive oil.

I freeze it in an ice-cube tray and then put the cubes in a zip-loc bag.

When I grow basil I grow enough to make a three year supply of pesto (and I eat a lot of it). Sunshine is precious in my yard so I can't grow enough of anything every year - everybody has to take turns being the teachers pet. Anyway by far the easiest way to make pesto is with one of those old hand crank meat grinder thingy's that clamp to the side of the table and have the interchangeable tips so that you can make a fine chop or a coarse chop. You can run all your ingredients through the mill and just mix them when they come out (I use a huge bowl to catch them as they exit the grinder). If you run short of any part of the recipe you can continue to grind and store your half made pesto and simply write on it what it is and what is missing from the recipe. Some folks don't like as much garlic as I do. I store mine in plastic freezer bags. I plop a couple of cupfulls of pesto into the zipper top bag and smoosh it around so that it gets most of the air out of the bag. I seal it shut and lay it flat in the freezer. After the bags have froozen solid you can stand them upright like books on a shelf. When you want some you simply break off a corner and then open the bag and remove it. I like to use good quality olive oil, garlic, some sort of nut - can be pine nuts, pecans or even sunflower seeds.

I also use lots of garlic and usually walnuts, with mammoth or lettuce leaved basil. I must say, the nasturtium leaves sound really interesting...I'll have to try them! I also use ziplock bags for freezing. DH doesn't care for pesto, so I usually end up eating half the batch on toasted bagels for breakfast and freezing the rest. Then I can't go anywhere due to the garlic breath..but it's worth it!

Had some just the other night - frozen chopped tomatoes heated up with two cubes of pesto and some diced zucchini and then mixed with whole wheat pasta - a real taste of summer.

I use Marcella Hazan's recipe from Classic Italian Cooking

2 cloves garlic
2 c lightly packed basil leaves
1/2 c grated parmesan [note: don't use pre-grated parmesan; buy cheese in chunks or wedges, and use a food processor to grate it]
1/2 c olive oil
2 T pine nuts

1. Put the garlic in the work bowl of a food processor or blender with a steel blade. Process until finely chopped.
2. Add basil to work bowl. Process until finely chopped.
3. Add parmesan and olive oil. Process until thoroughly incorporated.
4. Sprinkle pine nuts over top of pesto in work bowl. Pulse a few times to roughly chop nuts.
5. Pour into clean jars, up to 12 ounces. Top pesto with a thin layer of olive oil. Chill in refrigerator, then place in freezer. Pesto will keep in freezer for one year.

Mrs. Hazan firmly argues that you should NOT put the parmesan into the pesto if you are going to freeze it, but I always have, and have never had a problem.

Buon appetito!

From where I come from, it's hard to find pine nuts. If there are any it's quite expensive. I use cashew nuts instead and it's still as yummy. I also use a few leaves of oregano in whipping up a batch.

Some Italian recipes call for walnuts instead of pine nuts.

I use a recipe that my nephew gave me. He had been to Italy that summer and swore that this was very similar.
I use at least 3 cups of basil.
2-3 garlic cloves
1/4-1/2 olive oil
pinch of salt
2-3 tablespoons pine nut or walnut is fine-toasted
1/4 cup fresh parmesan (leave this out if freezing and add
when you cook it)

Add basil,pine nuts, garlic , salt to food processor. When crushed, add oil. First put in 1/4 cup,if this looks smooth enough. If you are freezing this, then plan to put a small layer of oil over the top to help preservation.

Every season I freeze regular, holy, and Thai basil by cleaning all of the leaves, spinning them dry, then grinding them in the food processor with just enough oil to make a paste (no garlic or other pesto ing., as they don't freeze as well, and I usually want just the basil). I then freeze the paste in 1/4c popsicle containers I get in a dollar store. When I need it, I pop them out, and swish it in the recipe I need a basil flavor in - Thai curries usually use the whole thing, others maybe just a little, and then I refreeze it until I need more.

Dave

My favorite containers for freezing pesto are 2.5-oz baby food jars. I wish now I'd saved more of them, but I made most baby food at home.

I've heard the warnings about freezing the parmigiano, but I haven't noticed any difference in flavor when I do. I wish I could remember the sources, but the info I have is that freezing the grated parmigiano in the recipe shouldn't be a problem, especially if only stored a few months. Flavor loss and texture change is apparently noticeable mainly in the solid block form of the cheese, and after longer storage. I haven't tried freezing a block of parmigiano myself, so I can't speak with authority on this. We do tend to eat all the pesto before the next summer season, which has worked out well.

MA