College Cooking Tips
Freeze in ice cube trays.
Once frozen, store pesto cubes in zip lock bags. One frozen cube of pesto is a handy way to measure out what you'll need.
Pesto is traditionally made with basil, olive oil, garlic & nuts. Since basil is a summertime treat you’ll need wintertime options. Try making pesto using Italian parsley instead of basil.
- Feel free to substitute walnuts, pecans or even almonds for pine nuts.
- Use only fresh garlic, because older garlic may turn bitter in the sauce.
- If you can find small leafed basil, use it. It’s sweeter than the common large leaved basil.
- Use extra-virgin olive oil.
Traditional Basil Pesto Recipe:
Pesto– Nectar of the Italian gods!
- 5 cups tightly packed basil leaves
- 2 Tbs. Italian parsley
- 2 Tbs. chopped garlic
- 1/2 cup nuts of your choice
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
After processing all of the ingredients above in a blender or food processor, add 1/4-1/2 C of olive oil (depending on your preference for viscosity)
Try not to over blend. You don't want to burn the olive oil. Just pulse the blender so it is well mixed.
Pesto can be made from many different herbs, though you can never have enough of the traditional basil pesto stashed away in the freezer.