The basil in my garden is growing deliciously high. And for the first time, I've grown garlic this year. I was so excited to dig it up the other day! Isn't it beautiful? And now I can't wait to use it. I plan to roast some garlic for a spread and make fresh basil pesto to serve with pasta. Mmmmmmm. Just be glad you can't smell me online.
Here's how I make pesto:
1 package fresh basil*
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
2 cloves of garlic (or more)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
hot water to thin, if needed
Chop basil, nuts, garlic and oil (I use a mini-chopper, which makes short work of this task). Add cheese, salt & pepper to blend. Thin with a Tbsp or two of hot water. Toss with hot pasta.
*When I don't have fresh basil in my garden, I buy a package of hydroponically-grown basil. The leaves from one package seem to be about right. This probably makes about 2 cups of loosely packed basil leaves - I've never actually measured it though.
I'm submitting this recipe to this week's Carnival of the Recipes, at Feisty Repartee. Submit your recipes to the Carnival by e-mailing recipe.carnival ( at ) gmail.com by Thursdays at midnight, to be included in that week's line-up!
Oooh, my tummy actually just growled as I read your recipe. Sounds delicious!!
Posted by: Mellie Helen | Thursday, July 28, 2005 at 02:05 PM
Yummy yum yum! That sounds awesome! And I'm very impressed with your garlic too ;)
Posted by: Anita | Thursday, July 28, 2005 at 08:47 PM
I am So glad you stopped by my blog the other day because if you hadn't, I'd've never found this awesome recipe for pesto!!! I just recently found I liked it...it's heavenly on, of all things, boiled potatoes! Thanks :-)
Posted by: Janet | Thursday, July 28, 2005 at 09:03 PM
Oh yum.... mmm, I can taste it from here, yes here, in Melbourne Australia!!!!
Posted by: Monet | Friday, July 29, 2005 at 06:24 AM
Sorry, that is a post from me, Melody, not Monet!!!
Posted by: Melody | Friday, July 29, 2005 at 06:24 AM
Wow-good for you, Marie. You're quite the gardener. I am jealous!
Posted by: Shish | Friday, July 29, 2005 at 10:03 AM
FYI - I think that garlic is the easiest plant on the planet to grow... next to weeds, which I'm also very good at growing... I stuck the garlic cloves in the garden bed in the fall and covered them with straw. In the spring, I removed the straw, and the plants emerged. I cut off the curly-Q scapes once they sprouted, and then dug up the plants last weekend. Pretty impressive that you get such beautiful plants with basically zero work!!
Posted by: Marie | Friday, July 29, 2005 at 12:08 PM
Wow. This sounds awesome. I can't wait to try it. Your garlic looks great.
Posted by: Lucy Stern | Saturday, July 30, 2005 at 11:18 PM