Pesto, one word says it all. Delicious spooned atop any dish, morning noon or night!
Take advantage of all the freshness in your garden (or mine) and select a mix of seasonal herbs that pair well together for a delightful surprise. The recipe below encourages each of us to relax in the kitchen and think in terms of what we have available and how deliciousness can be created without a rigid set of rules.
We enjoy pesto not only on pasta, but on grilled vegetables, omelettes, rice and baked potatoes.
If you are not a gardener and would like to secure fresh herbs, the herb kit to prepare the below recipe is available from my Farm store.
Farmer’s Delight Mixed Herb Pesto RECIPE:
• Garlic – if spring garlic then use 1 small, if garlic scapes then use one and if garlic cloves use 1 clove as a starting base, you can always add more depending on your palate
• Mixed Herbs - 2 cups of leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped. Some herbs may need their leaves removed from larger or woody stems prior to chopping (e.g. French tarragon, marjoram, basil and mint to name a few)
• Nuts – ½ cup of walnuts, pecans or sunflower seeds if you prefer nut free
• Cheese – ½ cup grated of parmesan or your favorite hard aged cheese
• Lemon juice – 2 teaspoons, fresh squeezed preferred
• Olive Oil – ½ cup (extra virgin if preferred)
• Fine sea salt, pepper – generous pinch each
Add roughly chopped garlic to your food processor and run until finely minced. Add mixed herbs and pulse until mixture is minced. Place contents into a bowl. Add nuts and cheese to food processor and pulse until mixture is desired coarseness. Place contents in same bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to the bowl and stir to combine. Taste and add more garlic and/or salt/pepper to taste. Remember, this is a guideline type recipe that encourages you to rely on your taste buds for decision making. Keep refrigerated and serve within four days for freshest flavor.
This recipe was inspired from an article I read on the EatingWell website.
For an easy to use pairing guide for recipes, I utilize one located on the Farmers Daughter Herbs website (https://www.farmersdaughterherbs.com/info/cooking-herb-chart) . We enjoy parsley for between 25% - 50% of the total, with genovese basil a favorite for the other half. I would recommend starting with two herbs and then with each succeeding batch try another combination and add a third herb into the mix.
