Sunday Supper

  

     A few weeks back we featured our garlic scape basil pesto for the Sunday Supper.  This week we thought we would share our classic pine nut basil pesto recipe.  If you remember the weekly weigh-in last week we harvested 5.4 pounds of basil, well it all went into making pesto.  

     Just like in the garlic scape pesto, this is also made to taste rather than with exact quantities.  The ingredients are:

     1.  Basil

     2.  Olive Oil

     3.  Pine Nuts

     4.  Fresh Ground Pepper

     5.  Sea Salt

     6.  Red Pepper Flakes

     7.  Graded Romano or Other Hard Cheese

     8.  Garlic

     While we made pesto from five lbs of basil a more reasonable starting point would be with about a pound.  To make all five pounds we had actually had to do it in 3 batches anyway (the photos are of one batch).  Using around a pound of basil you will need about 2 cups pine nuts, 1.5 cups olive oil, 3 tbsp salt and pepper, 1 tbsp red pepper flakes, 1/2 cup graded Romano or other hard cheese, and one or two medium heads (not cloves) of garlic.  

     Add whole garlic cloves into food processor and blend until chopped.  Next add basil and start to blend pulsing a few seconds at a time.  While pulsing begin to slowly pour in olive oil until basil purees well into even consistency.  Next, add the pine nuts, cheese, red pepper, salt, and pepper mixing together well.  Taste and adjust as necessary.