No shave today…it’s pesto day!

One of our family staples and “emergency foods” is our homemade pesto…a very versatile base that you can use as a simple pasta sauce, as a bruscheta topping, sandwich base, or as a topping for chicken, fish…you name it. Every year at this time (for the last 20 years), I buy a couple of crates of fresh basil from Lino at the Jean-Talon Market, a large farmers’ market that features not only fresh veggies and fruit, but artisanal bakeries, raw-milk cheese shops, organic pork butchers, and fish mongers from the Gaspesian coast. The beauty of pesto is that it freezes really well and defrosts quickly because of its high olive oil content. It’s also super nutritious, loaded with antioxidants and Omega-3’s. And the taste is…….incredible (a little goes a long way). My recipe is pretty simple and easy to do:

1. Roast about 1 lb. of pine nuts (or any other unsalted nuts of your choice….walnuts work real well and are high in Omega-3’s) at 225 degrees F for about 15 minutes, turning a couple of times to prevent burning. This releases the nuts’ flavor. Remove from oven and let cool.
2. While the nuts are warming up , I hand-grind a 2 lb. block of Parmesan nice and fine (I prefer the Reggiano) into a very large bowl (I use an enormous wooden salad bowl).
3. When the nuts have cooled I put them in the Cuisinart (food processor) and chop them fine, then mix them in with the Parmesan. Add salt and pepper to the mixture.
4. This recipe is for about 30 basil plants. I buy the hydroponic type with the very thin and edible stems which are much less work and taste about as good as the “earth” ones. Soak the basil leaves in a deep sink under lots of water. Drain and repeat three times in total, or until the water looks pretty clean and clear..
5. Put the basil leaves in a salad spinner and dry. You will need to do a number of “loads” depending on how much basil you have.
6. While the basil is soaking, squeeze six large lemons into a measuring cup and reserve. Also, skin about 20 large garlic cloves and have them ready.
7. Now you are ready to start processing the “wet” mix. Take a few garlic cloves and chop them fine in the Cuisinart. Stuff as much basil as you can into the Cuisinart bowl and add some lemon juice. Begin processing and slowly add olive oil until the mixture becomes a loose paste (2-3 liters of oil should be enough for such a large batch). Open the top and add more basil leaves and continue grinding, adding oil slowly. When the bowl is about 2/3 full, empty the contents into the dry cheese/nut mixture. Repeat until all the basil is finished.
8. Mix the basil and cheese-nut mixture until well combined and transfer into small plastic sealed containers of your choice. This stuff is pretty concentrated so a 1/3 cup container is more than enough for a 1 lb. package of pasta.
9. For serving, just defrost a container of pesto in some warm water in the sink, throw it into the pasta, add some fresh olive oil, and enjoy. Can be ready in about the time it takes to cook the pasta, say 6-10 minutes. Why buy packaged shit loaded with chemicals and preservatives when you can have this? My kids loved it, and my 23 year-old son begged to make it with me last year, claiming that with this and his Mom’s recipe for pumpkin pie he could move out and live comfortably on his own forever. Needless to say, we both rushed to teach him these two recipes!

Cheese and nut mixture

Cleaned garlic

Soak basil

Spin dry

Clean and dried leaves

In Cuisinart with chopped garlic and lemon juice

Finished product combined with cheese and nuts.