“Abracadabra!” “Alakazam!” No, honey, you don’t need a magic trick to make pesto! Put down your magic wand and save your witch hat for next month. Go look outside!
Is your basil trying to go to seed? Grab those leaves and let’s make some pesto! Seriously though, grab them sooner rather than later because when herbs or vegetables go to seed, they turn bitter. Why you ask? Oh, it is this cool thing that the plant is trying to pass on its genetics, by turning bitter. This adaption keeps animals in the wild from eating them. Thus, their genetics are passed on. Enough about biology—back to Genovese Basil, which is the type that is best suited for pesto!
Okay, wait, one more biology lesson, or it could be considered horticultural. Either way, do you know how many types of basil there are? 21!! I had no idea either! Each has its own distinct flavor profile, so many of the variations cannot be used interchangeably. For pesto making, it’s Genovese Basil, which looks very similar to Sweet Basil-- probably the variation you are most familiar with. My basil grows like a weed in the summer so that means by late summer, it is starting to go to seed. Lucky for me I make a giant batch of pesto to enjoy well into fall. I divide the batch into a few vacuum-sealed bags and freeze them for quick and easy meals! I snuck a few extra greens into this recipe. Spinach for some extra vitamins and minerals and arugula to help give a lovely, peppery bite to the pesto. I love this pesto recipe so much and hope you will too!
Ingredients:
3 cups basil leaves
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup arugula
3 large garlic cloves
2 cups shredded parmesan
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound of cooked and drained pasta
Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water before you drain the pasta
Method:
In a food processor, add in all of the ingredients, except the olive oil, and pulse until paste-like.
With the processor on, slowly stream in olive oil until pesto is smooth and homogenous. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
Scoop into a large bowl, cover, and set to the side if using immediately. Set in the refrigerator, if not using immediately. A note on flavor development—There are two factors when it comes to building flavor: time and temperature. Like a middle school grade dance, these flavors are standing on opposite sides of the room. As there is no alcohol in this recipe, time is going to be our ice breaker, and let’s give these flavors a chance to get to know each other. If covered and in the fridge, the pesto will keep for 5 days.
Tip: To keep the top of the pesto from drying out, once in its container, add a drizzle of olive oil to the top, cover, and then, place in the refrigerator.
If using immediately, move on to step 5!
Bring a large of heavily salted water to a rolling boil.
Add pasta and cook until al dente. Scoop out 1/2 cup of pasta water and set it to the side.
Drain pasta and put back into the pot. Add pesto and stir it together. If pesto is not spreading easily, add a few drops of pasta water until pasta is covered in pesto!
Plate and add a little extra parm on the top!
You’ll notice that there are no pine nuts in this recipe. Nuts are hit or miss with me. It seems that everything but almonds causes an adverse reaction for me, so I steer clear of 99% of nuts. If you are missing them in this recipe, simply toast about 1/4 of a cup of pine nuts on the stove, until you can smell them, add them to the food processor, and proceed with step 1.
