pesto!!

I came across a pesto recipe on a blog that I follow that I found kind of intriguing. There are lots of different variations of pesto out there and this one had a twist that I thought I just needed to try. The 3 main 'green' ingredients are parsley, basil and sage. It was the sage that caught my attention. Sage has such an earthy flavour to it that I thought it would make for an interesting combination of flavours along with the parsley and basil. My jar of pesto was almost empty in the refrigerator so it was time to give this recipe a try!

We are part of a community garden site in our town and I headed there to gather my greens. The basil this year was hit by a late frost, but it came back well and is offering the gardeners lots to harvest. We also have a herb plot where I gathered the parsley and sage from. It wasn't long before I had what I needed and I took my pickings back home to begin making my pesto.

I just love this pic of all these beautiful greens together! Garden fresh and full of so much goodness!

I washed my greens and roughly chopped them up and then processed them in the food processor until they were somewhat finely chopped. Now it was time to add the garlic, parmesan cheese and the nuts, which I chose walnuts today. I have used pine nuts in the past to give it that delicate nutty flavour, but they are a treat for us since they are so expensive and I simply didn't have any on hand. So in the walnuts went along with the garlic and parmesan and it was processed all together. 

Now comes the oil and make sure you have a good quality olive oil that is preferably 'first cold pressed'. This really makes a difference in the taste and quality of the oil. I choose to use organic for our cooking needs.

 So just pour this in the feed tube of the food processor and allow the pesto to become the consistency that you want depending on what you are going to use it for. It's always easier to add more oil to it if you want it thinner. If you are going to use it as a dip or a spread then you want to have it a bit thicker. For a pasta dish you can add more oil to it and then it will mix better with the pasta. 

So mine at this point remains to be a bit thick and that way I can use it as a dip or thin it out for our pasta dinner later this week. I always love the amazing colour that pesto is! Such a beautiful and rich green! 

At this point it's ready to be stored in the refrigerator. It will last several weeks when kept cold. Just always remember that it is all natural and there are no 'preservatives' in it, so it's best to use it while it's still fresh. But remember, you can freeze pesto too! That way you will have the freshness of summer during the cold, snowy days of winter! 

And I must give credit to the blog that I found it on. It's called A Garden for the House. 

So here's the recipe with a few changes that made it my own!

P.B.S. Pesto

Parsley & Basil ~ about 2 cups each, when roughly chopped and lightly pressed down.

Sage ~ 10 large leaves

2 large cloves garlic

1/4 cup of nuts ~ choose whatever kind you like, today I used walnuts

1 cup of grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

Olive oil ~ enough to achieve the desired consistency. 

Add salt to taste. Mix in the food processor until all the herbs are pureed well.

Now you are ready to store it in your selected container. I just use a mason jar for mine.

Keep it in the refrigerator or freeze measured portions for use at a later time.

ENJOY!!

Maggie