Lick The Spoon Clean

“Pllllease pass the pesto.”

Heard that before? Probably not. Never even heard of pesto? That’s OK! You’ve come to the right place! Come on in and take a seat – I’ll tell ya all about it. Hell, I’ll even be nice enough to SHOW you how to make it. But, first things first – I need to address the number one question: What is pesto? If you crack open the dictionary, pesto is “a sauce made especially from basil, garlic, oil, pine nuts, and grated cheese” and technically means “pounded” in Italian or “to pound” in Latin. It’s that green stuff that you see globbed all over pizzas, sandwiches, pasta, or other dishes with an Italian twist. I truly have a PASSION for pesto. A love affair you might say. I could rub gallons of it all over my body and still be begging for more. As sick as that may sound, but it’s the utter truth. My name is Jenny…and I’m a pesto-a-holic. But, enough about me! Let’s stop blabbering and blend up a batch!

Remember what the dictionary said? Me neither. We are charging off the pages and into the kitchen – Jenny style! Prepared to be pesto-ed!

2 bushels (packages or cups) of fresh basil

FYI…if you DIDN’T read my article of what’s in season this September, HELLO! Basil is on the list!!! My bad, cranking it down a knotch. Let’s continue…

3 cloves garlic, minced = 3 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 pine nuts, toasted (Hold your horses! I’m going to show you how)

juice of 1/2 of a lemon = 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Salt & Pepper

1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

So I may be throwing out more than one new term out today. What is a pine nut? Yes, it is a nut and it looks just like the picture. In the store it’s right by the…you’ve got it…NUTS! They are nutty, creamy, and oh-so-good in salads, pasta, and of course…PESTO! But, we don’t want just any pine nut, we want them toasted. But, please don’t go looking for “toasted pine nuts”. I have yet to find them in a prepackaged form. So, go ahead and step to the stove. I’ll show you the way!

Burner is heating on medium. Skillet is on the stove. Pan is sprayed with PAM (non-stick spray). Throw in the nuts.

Now, listen very carefully. DON’T STOP STIRRING or those babies will burn baby burn!

Cook until they look…er…eh…”toasted”, or lightly brown on one or both sides. Immediately turn off the heat and remove them from the pan. Don’t be a nut and leave them on the stove! Your nuts will burn…Ooooh…Ouch! Boy’s don’t worry…we are only talking about PINE nuts here. BREATHE.

Dump the washed basil leaves (not stems), minced garlic, toasted pine nuts into a blender. After removing the seeds, squeeze one half of a lemon in.

Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of salt (or enough to satisfy your taste buds) and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper (4 grates of fresh pepper).

Shake Shake Shake!

Shake Shake Shake!

Shake that Salt, Yeah!

Shake that Pepppper!

Drizzle in 1/2 cup olive oil. We have a pure *cough* ya right *cough* household, so we only use virgin olive oil.

rrrRRRRRrrrrRRRRRrrrr!

Blend your blender! A food processor will work too…my died a tragic death and it’s just easier to wash a blender. I survived. So can you! The “chop”, “grate”, or whatever setting you feel like at the moment will work just fine. You want your pesto to chop up and mix all together until ALMOST smooth. We still like ‘em rough around the edges, so don’t go blender crazy! Basil not blending? Turn off the blender, push the leaves towards the blade, add another 1/4 cup of oil, and go go go!

Pour every drop of your precious pesto into a bowl (the spatula is your friend here). Stir in 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese…or more! I love cheese so I added just a tad bit more…ok I may have doubled it. So what?!

Man oh man oh man! I could lick the screen now. Better yet, I still have some in the fridge! You can store the pesto in the fridge for about a week OR freeze it in an plastic air-tight container in the fridge (or even in cubes!).

Oh. So you’re not into eating plain pesto?

Slather it solo or with mayonnaise on your sandwiches…

Dip your fresh french bread right in…

or screw other sauce – use pesto on top of pasta or pizza!

I’m warning you! Don’t be alarmed if you get addicted. Who knew that green could be this good?!