This is my family’s old stand-by.  Each season we harvest two or three batches of basil from our backyard plant and make double-and-triple batches of pesto that we freeze in small, 1/4 cup jars to last us all winter.  With a plentiful stockpile of pesto tubs, we put this green, speckled shmear on everything: Try a dollop mixed into a bowl of soup or smeared onto bread dough (calzone or pizza-style) before baking.  Whisk a spoonful with an egg and make a savory french toast (it’s fantastic!) or pile on top of roasted root vegetables.  There are zillions of possibilities!

Pesto Ingredients (a triple batch):
6 cups basil
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
9 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted*
1 cup olive oil
2 cups Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:

In a food processor or blender, blend basil, garlic, toasted nuts, cheese and salt until pureed.  Scrape down the sides.  While the machine is running, add olive oil in a slow, steady stream to the basil mixture.  The consistancy will thicken and turn a light green color.  Before serving, taste for salt.

Diet Notes: SCD-safe*

*If you haven’t introduced pine nuts (or if they’re out of budget!), try toasted pecans, walnuts or cashews.  I favor toasted walnuts, but all three are excellent.

27 Sep This entry was published on September 27, 2008 at 9:01 pm. It’s filed under Food Preservation, Main Dish, Pasta, Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) and tagged basil, cherry tomatoes, garlic, gnocchi, olive oil, Pasta, pesto, pine nuts. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.