Help! Drowning in basil!

[telophase]

Well, ok, it's not really that bad, but we have a nicely growing basil plant in the Aerogarden* my mom gave us for Christmas that is SUCKING UP ALL THE LIGHT and crowding out the thyme and chives that are also growing there, so I need to make something with ALL THAT BASIL to give the other two a fighting chance.

So. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PESTO RECIPE?



* Don't Google for the price as you will be appalled. Definitely not worth it. But Mom got it free, and for free it's perfectly fine.

Comments

[coraa.livejournal.com]

My favorite pesto recipe!

You can swap pine nuts in for the walnuts; I use walnuts because they're, uh, quite a bit cheaper, and I like the taste.

This is for two cups of sauce, but the recipe scales up. It also freezes very nicely. I usually freeze it in an ice cube tray, and then pop it out and put it in a ziplock, so that I can then reach in and pull out exactly as much pesto as I need at one time.

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, or 1/3 cup whole walnuts
2 cups basil leaves
1 clove garlic
olive oil (this is not a bad place to use the fancy stuff, if you have it)
salt
pepper
1/4 cup parmesan or other hard cheese, finely shredded/grated

Toast the walnuts in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring/tossing frequently, until they start to give off that toasted-nut scent. Or, 3-4 minutes.

Bruise the basil leaves (this is optional, but nice) by putting them in a plastic bag and whacking them repeatedly with something heavy. Also a good de-stresser. While you're at it, smash the garlic

Dump the basil, the walnuts, and the garlic in a blender or food processor, along with a bit of salt (say, half a tablespoon?). Technically you can do this by hand, by mincing everything very finely and then smashing it together with a mortar and pestle or with a wooden spoon, but if you have the technology, use it, since pesto by hand is a bit of a PITA. Add a little olive oil, say a few tablespoons, and whirr it. Add more olive oil and whirr more. Continue until the sauce is the consistency you like: I like mine very smooth, like swamp ooze, but some people like a more rustic approach.

Once it's done, stir in some black pepper (I dunno how much, I crank the pepper mill a few times and call it good) and the cheese. (Technically you can add the cheese in the blender/food processor, but sometimes it gets clumpy and weird, so I usually stir it in by hand at the end.) Then taste and adjust the salt.

And that's it. A whole clove of raw garlic, food processor-ed, is pretty pungent, so you can always add half and taste it and add more if you like. (I like a lot of garlic, so I sometimes even go up from there, but, yeah, it can be pretty srs bzns raw.) Alternately you can mellow the garlic a little by toasting it whole in a pan (a few minutes, just like the walnuts) or by parboiling it for a minute or so, in which case you can add more. If I have leftover roasted garlic, I definitely use it, but it's not worth spending an hour roasting garlic just for the pesto.

Of course if you don't like garlic, you can also leave it off.

I have successfully made this with all kinds of nuts (pine nuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds), and all kinds of cheeses, and also all kinds of greens although since you're looking to get rid of basil that's not really relevant.

Okay, tl;dr over!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

From a prize-winning chef even! XD

Also a good de-stresser.

I believe this will sell the recipe to Toby, after these past couple of weeks at work.

Thank you!

[solarbird]

I hate walnuts and pine nuts - and all true nuts afaik, actually - so I never liked pesto. Then I saw the ingredients one say and thought, "I should love this - is it just the walnuts?" so I invented my own variation and discovered I ♥ pesto! As long as it's made slightly differently. My favourite set of ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (fresh preferred)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (shelled, no husks!) or if you can't get that, sunfower seeds
1/2 cup olive oil

Put the basil, garlic, and seeds into food processor with olive oil. Process until smooth. Add cheese and process a few seconds longer. For a more traditional pesto still without walnuts or pine nuts, use 1 cup parmesan cheese and no mozzarella; the two-cheese thing is something I tried as an experiment and thought turned out super-awesome. If you like walnuts and pine nuts, use the same amount as I'd use in seeds.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

This looks like a great version to cook for a friend of ours, who is allergic to nuts. Thanks!

[solarbird]

Somehow in editing my "shelled, no husks!" ended up in front of pumpkin seeds instead of sunflower. I meant no sunflower husks, of course. I don't think you can de-husk pumpkin and besides you don't need to!

(I went to edit it but you'd already replied. You're quick. ^_^)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I gathered that was what you meant. :D

(Muahahahaaaa! Comes of being at work with Gmail open in a tab so I see when the notification hits my inbox. XD)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I like to make a spaghetti sauce with my basil:
one small onion, chopped
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
3-4 large tomatoes
Basil

Saute the onions and garlic in a little olive oil until the onion is clear. Add the tomatoes and mush them with a fork. After they're liquid-y, add a little salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes (if you like), and a handful of basil leaves. Reduce until it's the consistency of spaghetti sauce.

NOM.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Mmm.

Luckily I have just eaten lunch or these recipes would be driving me MAD

[awamiba.livejournal.com]

This one is really good, but we don't make it often, somehow.


Yummy linguine

Yield: 8 servings

1 medium onion, chopped
1 TB olive oil
1lg clove garlic, chopped
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 green onions, chopped
one handful of chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz uncooked linguine, broken
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Sauté onion and garlic in oil in a large skillet until tender. Sauté until crisp-tender. Remove from heat, drain.

Combine whipping cream, broth, green onions, basil, & salt in a medium skillet. Cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook linguine according to package directions. Drain, place in large serving bowl. Add mushrooms, onions/garlic, and cream mixture. Toss gently. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and pepper. Toss gently again. Serve immediately.



===
I'm looking for my favorite chicken dish, but can't find it right now. Basically you bake chicken breasts, then cut them open afterward & stuff them with a compound butter made with chopped basil, ground pepper, & a bit of Parmesan cheese.

We have a tremendously good manicotti recipe that uses a lot of basil, but we weren't sure if you could handle high levels of ricotta & marscapone cheese.

Nick also said that you can chop the basil up really fine and put it into crepe batter & use it to make savory crepes (I have a good recipe for chicken & mushroom filling that might work with that).

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Those sound great. :)

(I think I have more recipes than basil now, BUT I've grown it before and know that in a very little time I shall again have too much basil!)

[kitsunesan.livejournal.com]

I've been making basil garlic mayo, which is pretty darn delicious both on sandwiches and with seared tuna steaks. I have no idea about actual measurements as I'm a by guess and by golly cook, but it's basically finely chopped basil, minced garlic, salt and pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil mixed with mayo. Though since I'm trying to watch my fat intake, I've been dropping the olive oil and using low fat mayo. Still tastes good. :D

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Mm, thanks!

[xebra42.livejournal.com]

I made this once, and despite being lower fat, it is *VERY* tasty :)

2 cup(s) basil, leaves, fresh
1/2 cup(s) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium garlic clove(s), peeled
1/2 tsp table salt

* Place pine nuts in a small skillet and set pan over medium heat. Cook until nuts are golden, shaking pan frequently to prevent burning, about 3 minutes. Transfer nuts to a plate to cool.

* In a blender or food processor, combine nuts, basil, broth, cheese, oil, garlic and salt; process until smooth and thick. Yields about 1/4 cup per serving.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D

[xebra42.livejournal.com]

Ooohh I almost forgot. If you like fish- get a salmon fillet (or whatever non-white fish floats your boat). In a separate bowl, put about 1 clove garlic, 1/4 - 1/2 c. basil, 1/2 c. olive oil, and 1-2 c. chopped tomatoes. Let stand in there for a while.
Cook fish. Cook spiral pasta.
Toss all off it together.
:)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Mmm, salmon. Thanks! :D

[baldeagle.livejournal.com]

I really like Thai Hot Basil Chicken...
and it uses a *ton* of basil...