I picked the first basil leaves this afternoon and turned them into pesto this evening. By some oversight, I didn't have any pine nuts in the house, so I replaced those with some slivered almonds. The basil, a couple of parsley sprigs, some Parmesan and almonds were blended with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. After putting the blended mixture in the jar I put a thin layer of olive oil on top, to stop it discolouring.
And that's it - very simple, and it tastes just as good with almonds as it does with pine nuts. It will keep in the fridge for about a week, although I don't think it's going to last that long!
3 comments:
I wish I liked pesto.
I wish snails didn't like basil.
Lucy
You've already got basil up! I'm so jealous. I just put some lemon basil seeds in the ground this afternoon. I find lemon basil makes a wonderful pesto. Tried it last year with macadamia nuts, recommended because they are almost as good as pine nuts and cheaper but was not impressed with the flavor. Tried walnuts once but found it very bitter.
Hi Lisa - I sowed them indoors in April and then transferred them to our hoop house in early May (I know growing things under plastic is cheating, but having that bit of extra protection really makes a difference!).
Lucy - we're incredibly lucky in not having big slugs and snails here. Only 50% of our family like pesto - or herbs generally for that matter. It makes cooking a meal that we'll all enjoy rather frustrating!
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