Summer for me has many different flavors that come to mind and many different foods that any other time of the year are doable but just taste better in summer. Corn on the cob, burgers on the grill, strawberries grown in Maine, anything ! fresh from the garden, and pesto. Yes pesto. I never had pesto as a child, the culinary culture at our home was all american middle class, white bread, sugary cereal was king, and every meal consisted of meat vegetable and potatoes. It wasn't until I started working as a waitress and had access to a kitchen other than my mothers that I learned there was a whole other world of food out there.
I started making pesto when I had my first real garden, I lived on Morgan St. in Waterville and I grew more basil than is healthy for any family of four and needed some way to use all the excess, enter pesto. It is miraculously easy to make and has endless uses, pasta of course, but there is also eggs, pizza, a spread on sandwiches, tossed in warm veggies, salad dressing, the uses are really all up to you, what ever you feel would taste yummy with pesto is probably right.
Ingredients
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese
Directions
Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food
processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup
of the oil and process until fully incorporated and
smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
If using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse
until smooth. Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl
and mix in the cheese.
If freezing, transfer to an air-tight container and drizzle
remaining oil over the top. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw and stir in cheese.
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