Basil in the Kitchen

Time to make some pesto, don't you think?

I found a great spot for my basil in the kitchen.

Do you like it?

Today is as good a day as any to harvest my basil plant and make a big batch of pesto to last me all weekend. So lets start cooking!

Spinach Pesto

You know how I feel about spinach, don't you?

Even though I fully understand the green goodness this vegetable represents, I just don't like it much.

My husband on the other hand loves it. He will eat it all day long.

What is wrong with the man?

I had a mountain of spinach in the last streekkrat I received. Oh joy.

For a few minutes I actually contemplated freezing it or giving it to the neighbour.

Luckily my husband suggested spinach pesto.

Definitely a winner!

I figured it should be similar to making regular pesto so here's what I did:

Add three tablespoons of pine nuts and three chopped cloves of garlic to your food processor.
Cover it with spinach and blend it. Add some olive oil (I must have added about two tablespoons, maybe three in total) and more spinach, keep on blending.
Add a handful of basil leaves, a dash of salt, a bit of olive oil and more spinach. Blend, blend, blend.
Add about a handful of grated parmesan cheese and blend some more. I must have added about 6 big handfuls of fresh spinach.
It is ready when you have a nice smooth consistency.
Taste and adjust the seasoning to your personal preference.

Mix into cooked pasta and enjoy!

Pesto pasta

My basil plant was begging to be used and what better use for basil leaves than in pesto.

Yum. Yum. Yum.

One of my fellow bloggers, Jolanda from ongezouten lekker, posted a pesto recipe on her blog. Of course I had to try it out!

As I picked the leaves one by one, the kitchen was filled with the unmistakable aroma of fresh basil. I blitzed all the ingredients together in my food processor and admired the beautiful green pesto.

It was delicious. I mixed it into penne pasta and then added some sauteed onions, mushrooms and courgette.

I repeat: simply delicious!

To see the Dutch version of Jolanda's recipe, click here.
If you don't understand Dutch then here is a quick translation.

Ingredients:
Basil leaves - 20 or more
Pine nuts
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Pecorino cheese (I added slightly more than a tablespoon)
Water as needed

Method:
Combine all ingredients in the food processor and add water as needed to help to make the mixture smooth.

Mix into cooked pasta, then add sauteed veggies and serve with some grated Pecorino cheese.
Enjoy!