Basil is commonly used fresh in cooked recipes. In general, it is added at the last moment, as cooking quickly destroys the flavor. The fresh herb can be kept for a short time in plastic bags in the refrigerator, or for a longer period in the freezer, after being blanched quickly in boiling water. The dried herb also loses most of its flavor, and what little flavor remains tastes very different, with a weak coumarin flavor, like hay.
Basil is one of the main ingredients in pesto—a green Italian oil-and-herb sauce. Pesto can be used in MANY different ways. Great in pastas, eggs, sandwich spreads, pizza sauces, basically you should put this sh*t on everything because its a delicious way to eat fresh herbs.
I won't go too in depth because I know you are all just here for the recipe. So for this one you'll just need a food processor, you can do it in the blender if you want but I'm not too sure that will chop everything up as nicely as a food processor. Also, most recipes for pesto include pine nuts, I do not use pine nuts because they are usually more expensive, they spoil and turn rancid much quicker than most nuts and many people have allergies to pine nuts. If you would like to make this recipe vegan feel free to leave out the Parmesan but just know that you are leaving out some awesome flavor if you do that.
Garden Fresh Pesto1/2 cup Cashews (soaked in water for 1-4 hours)
2 Scallions, green parts only
1 Tbs Garlic
2 cups Basil leaves
3 Tbs Olive oil
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
4 Tbs Parmesan, grated
Salt & Pepper to taste
1. Make sure the cashews have been soaking in water for at least 1 hour. Drain them and put them in the food processor.
2. Put all of the remaining ingredients in the food processor.
3. Blend it all up until it gets a nice pasty consistency with no large chunks of cashews or basil leaves (if you want it thinner just add more oil).
4. Use right away with basically any meal or store in a tight sealing jar. If you are storing in a jar make sure there is a layer of olive oil on top so the pesto doesn't spoil or turn brown.
Easy right? This recipe yields about 12 oz.
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