Pesto

I have re-visted using fresh basil. I just could not resist buying a bunch at the greenmarket. And although I said I was reluctant to make pesto because I could not find enough uses for it, I made it anyways. I also just wanted to use my new food processor.


This is actually the second batch of pesto I've made this summer. The first batch I used regular garlic but for this one I tried some roasted garlic I had leftover from making oven-roasted tomatoes. Other usual suspects: pine nuts, olive oil and salt.



I have a tiny little food processor so I have to keep adding basil as I puree. For the first batch, I would pause the food processing, add more basil, then process, then pause, etcetera. I also probably added way too much olive oil to the first batch. This time, I kept it going while alternating adding olive oil and basil.


The green color of this pesto was different than the first batch I made. And, a few days later, it mostly retained this color, whereas the first batch turned black more quickly (it's not bad, it's just oxidizing). Is it because I pureed it so much? Who knows.


My co-workers suggested I freeze pesto if I couldn't find enough uses for it. (This tray also includes some parsley which was quickly processed with water--I'm pretty sure this was a suggestion of Mark Bittman from the Times but I can't find the source.) This is about half of the pesto I made. I topped off each cube with a little extra olive oil. I'll have to see how it works out later this winter when I attempt to defrost it and actually use it.


I did not add any cheese at this point--usually salt and olive oil add plenty of flavor, and I can always add cheese when I make something with it. Lately I've mostly been using the pesto on turkey sandwiches--it is really fantastic on sandwiches, even those without meat.

Stay tuned for more uses for pesto.