A Tale of Two Pestos

Ah, basil--so green and lovely and abundant this time of year.  Fresh basil pesto, simple to make with so many uses, is worth its weight in gold.  And ounce for ounce, a little pesto will go a long way.  Making pesto is easy as can be.  I can never remember the exact proportions of the magic ingredients--basil, pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan cheese and olive oil, but my somewhat battered copy of The Joy of Cooking will give me the answer every time.

So pardon me now if I take a moment to wax poetic about this iconic cookbook.  In continuous publication since 1936, The Joy of Cooking was chosen by The New York Public Library as one of the "150 most important and influential books of the twentieth century."  The author, Irma Rombauer, used her life savings to self-publish the first book by this name in 1931 in an effort to support her family after her husband's suicide.  Her daughter, Marion, tested the recipes and made the illustrations and the two sold their mother-daughter project from Irma's apartment. The book was picked up by a commercial printing house in 1936 and, with a number of revisions, has been in constant publication since.  I own both the 1997 revision and the 75th anniversary edition and use both.  It is my go-to source for many basic need-to-know kitchen preparation guidelines.  For basic sauces, salad dressings, the BEST homemade brownies and a plethora of other recipes, I go to JOY even more than GOOGLE.  I know any recipe I find in Irma's encyclopedia is tested and tried and true.  Anybody can publish a recipe on the internet--just look at me! I find many, many good and thorough recipes on the internet, but a Google search will never, ever replace my Joy of Cooking.  (Click here to get your very own copy or check your favorite used book store.)

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen with an abundance of basil, it is time to make pesto. I like to make both a basic basil pesto and a sun-dried tomato version.  It is difficult to use all the pesto you make right away, so I freeze it in a plastic ice cube tray.  When frozen, I empty the pesto cubes into a plastic bag, carefully label and store in the freezer until I'm ready to use.  The cubes thaw almost instantly and can be used in salad dressings, as a marinade for chicken, tossed with pasta or veggies or used as a sauce for your next homemade pizza (try sun-dried tomato pesto, crumbled goat cheese and spinach for a tasty pie.)  It is inordinately tasty on anything you put on the grill.  With pesto in your freezer you will be enjoying the taste of summer for weeks to come.

Basic Basil Pesto

(Joy of Cooking version)

2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup pine nuts

2 medium cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (not the kind in the green container)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and ground black pepper to taste

1.  Process the basil, pine nuts, garlic and cheese in a food processor until it forms a rough paste.

2.  With the machine running, slowly pour the oil through the feed tube.  It should form a thick paste.  If it seems dry, add a little more olive oil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

3.  Use immediately, store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze in ice cubes.

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

(modified from Joy of Cooking)

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (dry or water packed--NOT packed in oil)

2 cloves garlic, peeled

6 fresh basil leaves PLUS 1 cup packed basil leaves

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

salt and ground pepper to taste

1.  Combine the sun-dried tomatoes, 1 clove garlic and 6 basil leaves in a small saucepan with enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil, remove from the heat and let stand for 20 minutes.  

2.  Combine the 1 cup basil leaves, 1 clove garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese in a food processor to form a rough paste.

3.  Drain the tomato mixture and add to the processor.  Finely chop and season with salt and pepper to taste.

I would love to hear your favorite ways to use pesto, so please feel free to leave your comments here. Some of you mentioned having a problem with the comment function on this blog.  I think I have changed the setting to make posting comments more user friendly.  Let me know!