Herb Garden & Pesto Recipe

We grow Italian (Genovese) basil at Girls Inc. We also had a new variety of basil this year, baby basil, which has little leaves that you don’t have to chop. I teach the girls how to make pesto. They love it! I love making a difference in a young person’s life.

Pesto

Yield: 1 cup

 Ingredients:

½ cup pine nuts or walnuts

4 cups fresh basil leaves, lightly packed (2 ounces)
½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

 Method:

-          Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-          Spread nuts on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until golden brown, tossing once, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet immediately. Completely cool.
-          In a food processor, combine nuts, basil, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Process until finely chopped.
-          Add cheese and pulse until well mixed.
-          While machine is running, slowly pour oil in a steady stream through the feed tube. Process until smooth.

Facts:

-          You can store pesto in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container for up to five days.
-          You can freeze pesto in a tightly sealed container for up to three months.
-          Place pesto in an ice cube tray. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Use cubes in soup.
-          Use as an appetizer with crackers or Italian bread. Take out of freezer and let thaw. Stir well.
-          Blend into hot pasta. Add about one cup of the pasta water and mix until all pasta is dressed.

Our garden at Girls Inc.

Herb Butter