Are you dreaming of summer right now? Here in PA it’s about 16˚ outside with light winds. Although, I don’t call them “light” when it’s 16! I call them bitter.
One of the ways you can keep summer around all year long is to preserve your garden produce when it’s at its peak by making Summer Pesto. Even if you don’t have a garden, it’s still more economical to purchase fresh produce when it’s in season and preserve it for the rest of the year. Even small patio gardens are large enough to grow the produce for this pesto.
The base of this pesto recipe is spinach and basil. While I always use half basil in the recipe, I often switch up the other half with whatever I have most of in the garden. I’ve used different spinach varieties, swiss chard and beet greens, all with great success. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to mess up this pesto. (And, it doesn’t have to be made in the summer either. You can find fresh basil and spinach all year round at your local grocer.)
I don’t have a recipe for this that’s set in stone. This recipe is one you can get creative with and tailor to your tastes!
I make this in my food processor. There are blenders out there that work for this too. I would just be careful not to liquefy it. That’s really easy to do in a blender.
Here are the ratios I use in case you’d like to double or triple it. Serving sizes will vary. I freeze it in 1 to 1-1/2 cup portions.
I use equal parts of basil and spinach.
Then I use 1/4 as much parmesan cheese.
Half as much pine nuts as cheese.
Half as much olive oil as pine nuts.
Half as much lemon juice as oil.
Then, salt & pepper to taste.
Here’s what the recipe might look like in measurements:
- 4 cups basil
- 4 cups spinach
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- ½ cup pine nuts
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 Tbls. lemon juice
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Combine the basil, spinach, cheese and pine nuts in the food processor.
- Pulse to chop leaves.
- Add lemon juice and pulse to combine well.
- Add olive oil a little bit at a time while pulsing.
- You may need more or less depending on the consistency you want.
- It should be spreadable but not liquid.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and stir together.
Now, here’s where it gets fun. You can serve this immediately OR you can freeze it for later. I put mine in quart baggies, lay them flat and freeze like a board.
I have a plastic tub that I keep them in the freezer like cards in a rolodex. They don’t take up much space in the freezer and they thaw in about 30 minutes. *Note* You don’t want to put these in the microwave to thaw. It will cook the greens.
Enjoy with crackers, garlic bread, over pasta or chicken. It’s delicious any way you serve it!
Maybe you want to plan for some spinach and basil in your garden this summer?