Basil is probably my favorite herb, especially when I make pesto. The pesto I used for this recipe is from last year’s garden. I made a bunch, added it to small Ball plastic containers (or made ice cubes), topped it off with a little olive oil and covered it with a thin layer of plastic wrap and sealed it good. Still perfect after over a year in the freezer!
Since my new basil plants (basil is an annual here in Michigan) are going strong I cleaned out my freezer and found this lonely jar of pesto. This is the only pesto I make and I have tried other combinations using spinach or parsley and different nuts like walnuts. Basil is my go-to-recipe for pesto!
I just love Eric Ripert’s new cookbook Vegetable Simple. I recently posted Grilled Whole Sweet Potatoes and Whole Butter Lettuce Salad I used my own pesto recipe and followed the cooking, cooling and pesto addition of Eric’s recipe.
Cold Pesto Pasta Salad for Two
- 8 oz. pasta – I used pappardelle – tagliatelle would be good too
- homemade pesto (see recipe below)
- tbsp. or two of EVOO
- Parmigiano-Reggiano
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain (you don’t need to save any pasta water – but it never hurts); run the pasta under cold water until it cools.
Add pasta to a large bowl; add a few big spoonfuls of pesto and toss until all the pasta is covered. Add a little olive oil to smooth it out. Serve in two bowls and garnish with Parmigiano-Reggiano and maybe a few basil leaves.
Judi’s Homemade Pesto:
- 4-5 cups fresh basil leaves, firmly packed
- 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
- 4 large garlic cloves (or to taste) peeled and chopped (I love garlic)
- 3/4-1 cup pine nuts
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 7-10 tbsp. olive oil, or more (depending on how thick you like it and what you are going to use the pesto for) this is a recipe to freeze
- 2-3 tbsp. parsley, minced (said to brighten the color of pesto)
According to America’s Test Kitchen it is worth it to blanch the basil leaves in boiling water for 20-30 seconds, then plunging them into ice water. Once cool dry the leaves and continue with the recipe. They say it inactivates the enzymes with the basil leaf that promote rapid oxidation, darkening its bright green color. I also read this same idea from King Arthur Flour (it is now King Arthur Baking) but they say only 5 to 10 seconds. Two excellent sources – they must be right!
I use to toast my pine nuts but I don’t any more. I always thought that would add more flavor to the pesto – apparently in Italy they do not. I will leave that up to you!
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
Here are some of my Pesto recipes:
Weight Watcher’s Pesto Two Ways
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Two Ways
Pesto Perpetua Basil (Ocimum x citriodorum)
Turkey Panini with Pesto and Red Onion
Pesto Pasta Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
Mafaldine Pasta with Potatoes, Green Beans and Pesto
Zucchini, Tomatoes, Pesto and Quesa Blanco Cheese
Cooking Tidbits – Keeping Pesto Green
Caprese Salad with a Basil Vinaigrette
You can also add a dollop to soups or stews, how about your scrambled eggs or omelette. As a base for appetizers, on veggies, sandwiches, salads, spoonful on top of chicken or fish – the possibilities are endless.
I do prefer the tagliatelle as Eric suggested…
I never heard about blanching the basil leaves. Great tip. I hate it when the pesto turns brown.
It seems to be a popular method of keeping beloved pesto green 🙂
Goodness. Pesto is something I need to eat more often. I forget about how much I like it. 🌿🍃😋
You can tell by all of the recipes I have posted using pesto that it is a favorite 🙂
Do you grow your own basil? 🌱
Always have – even with container plants I can get quite a harvest and continuous supply of basil 🙂
Can’t beat this classic tasty combination! 🙂
Nope, you sure can’t 🙂
Basil is my favorite herb too. Great idea to freeze pesto in individual portions for later use!
This pesto recipe I posted is perfect for freezing. Ball makes these plastic containers with tight fitting lids (2 sizes) and last year’s pesto is just as good as if I made it today!