I hesitated about writing this post because it's not a recipe; it's a result of winging it. One of my friends keeps reminding me that some things don't need to be complicated, and that often there are many ways to get something accomplished, so here I am, improvising pesto and explaining how I got there.
My basil is making a rebound after the "cowpocalypse", and my youngest thinks pesto is a food staple. So I set him to picking leaves off stems yesterday, and accumulated a big bowlful.
A friend brought me a couple pounds of walnuts, which make a lovely pesto. I stuffed all the basil, a quarter cup or so of extra virgin olive oil, about 1/8 cup of minced garlic, a cup of walnuts, and a 1/2 cup or so of Parmesan in the food processor, and let it whirl until the basil was minced pretty fine. Then I just kept adding more of each of those (plus some pepper) until it tasted right. I think I ended up adding about a pound of walnuts and two cups Parmesan, total, and at least another 1/2-to-full cup of oil.
Incidentally, making pesto will leave your kitchen smelling wonderful.
The real test: does the boy approve?
He felt it needed more oil. Adding that loosened the texture up a bit, and the second taste test passed inspection.
Pesto, waiting for labels and headed to the freezer. Not complicated; just delicious.
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