The nights are getting colder, the frosts are beginning and now the summer produce that just didn’t want to shut down, is doing so! While I’ll be sad to see the end of the zucchinis, beans, basil and even tomatoes, I must admit, I’ve been waiting in the wings to prepare the soil for more plantings…
I’d been wanting to bring in the last of the basil for pesto, and it having survived the first frost, didn’t wait any longer. After the icy beginning to a frosty day, the sun shone brightly, so it was perfect for grabbing the snips, a large basket, and heading down to the patch! I worked from one planting to the next, and when I’d finished, I couldn’t help but take a pic of the loaded basket sitting in the sunshine.
The last of the basil for the season.
Gary is the chief pesto maker in our house, but the first thing that I had him do, was to snip off all the seed heads for drying. They are now laying on brown paper in another basket – I will put them into a large brown paper bag to dry, allowing the bag to catch the seeds as they fall. The seeds will then be packaged to share with family, friends and community.
With the seed heads removed, Gary picked the basil leaves and washed them, then measured and weighed out the remaining ingredients and whizzed it all up in the blender – too easy! All that was left to do was bottle it all up, and freeze it ready for our use during the year, or to gift to family and friends, who say it’s pretty good!
This is the recipe I’ve made and used in my cooking for a local café since I began cooking for them in 2018. This pesto is generously dolloped on top of my Roast Pumpkin, Feta and Spinach Quiches, and was a key component in my Chicken Pesto dish. At home we love it dolloped, together with some crème fraîche, into a bowl of Roasted Tomato Soup, spread onto bruschetta, tossed through pasta and so much more.
This is the recipe I've made and used in my cooking for a local café since I began cooking for them in 2018. This pesto is generously dolloped on top of my Roast Pumpkin, Feta and Spinach Quiches, and was a key component in my Chicken Pesto dish. At home we love it dolloped, together with some crème fraîche, into a bowl of Roasted Tomato Soup, spread onto bruschetta, tossed through pasta and so much more.
- 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 100 g pine nuts
- 30 g fresh basil leaves
- 25 g Maffra Cloth Aged Cheddar (or Parmesan Cheese) grated (see notes)
- 10 g garlic crushed
- 1/4 tsp sea salt flakes
- 1/4 tsp coarse ground black pepper
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Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process until it becomes a smoothish chopped paste.
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Pour into a glass jar, cover with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent oxidation, seal and refrigerate until ready to use.
Thermomix Instructions:
SPEED 6 / 5 SECONDS three times (if necessary), scraping down after each time.
Cheese:
I love to use a locally made cheese, Maffra Cloth Ashed Cheddar, but of course, the traditional Parmesan can be used as well.
How we use basil pesto:
- Dollop, together with a little crème fraîche into roasted tomato soup
- Dollop into a bowl of hot minestrone soup.
- Dollop onto quiches, frittata.
- Spread on pizza bases and bruschetta.
- Toss through pasta.
- Add to creamy sauces.
Storage:
- Refrigerate for up to a week.
- Can be frozen - thaws quickly.
Basil Pesto Recipes:
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With many thanks and kindness,
Julie.
