Hey, welcome to my new blog, The Girl Who Cried Chocolate (In case you don't get it, it's a play on "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", plus I adore chocolate!) This is my first blog, so it's kind of nerve racking! I created this blog for fun so I can share with you all the amazing food I am and will be making.
Last weekend we had two full 4 ounce containers of basil from Trader Joe's that were starting to go brown - my sister and I went and bought a box and then later the same day my mom bought another box thinking we had none in the house! I figured what better way to use up extra basil than with pesto? Plus, I love pesto: it's my favorite pasta sauce, and you can use it in about a million different ways - on top of bread, drizzled on top of a pizza (or even used instead of pizza sauce), made into a vinaigrette (by thinning it with a little olive oil), and so much more!
Pesto is traditionally made with sweet basil leaves, pine nuts, any hard cheese, and olive oil, which is how my mom always makes it. You can easily substitute any type leafy greens (such as arugula or kale), any type of nuts (like pecans or almonds), and any type of hard cheese (Pecorino Romano or parmesan), which makes pesto an extremely versatile recipe that you can make with practically any ingredients you have on hand! I made it with basil (plus a handful of about to expire arugula), walnuts, parmesan cheese, garlic tops (more on that later), garlic cloves, and olive oil. You can even adjust the amounts to your taste (if you like it more garlicky, more cheesy, etc).
Over the weekend, we went to a place that sells farm fresh veggies (it was basically a beaten-up looking barn with rows and rows of crops behind it, so they were quite literally farm-fresh), and they were selling these purple flower-like things made up tiny little buds that apparently grow on the top of garlic plants - you can see it in the picture. I tasted one of the little buds, and it was extremely pungent, about three times more pungent than a regular garlic clove. I wanted to use it in a pesto recipe, so I scraped off the buds of one garlic top plus I used three garlic cloves.
I found a lovely little recipe from Tartine and Apron Strings after quite a bit of searching. So without further ado, here's the recipe:
4 cups sweet basil leaves (or any leafy greens), rinsed and patted dry
3/4 cup hard Italian cheese (such as Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padana; I used Parmesan)
3/4 cup nuts (I used walnuts, but you can use any type of nut)
6 cloves garlic (you can adjust to your taste)
olive oil (I used 3-4 tablespoons)
salt to taste
Put all the dry ingredients in a food processor and blend, pouring in the olive oil as you go. The olive oil will make it easier to process the ingredients, but add as you go so you don't add too much!
Makes approximately 3 cups.
Serve with pasta, bread, chicken, vegetables - the uses are endless!
Last weekend we had two full 4 ounce containers of basil from Trader Joe's that were starting to go brown - my sister and I went and bought a box and then later the same day my mom bought another box thinking we had none in the house! I figured what better way to use up extra basil than with pesto? Plus, I love pesto: it's my favorite pasta sauce, and you can use it in about a million different ways - on top of bread, drizzled on top of a pizza (or even used instead of pizza sauce), made into a vinaigrette (by thinning it with a little olive oil), and so much more!
 |
| Finished pesto! |
Pesto is traditionally made with sweet basil leaves, pine nuts, any hard cheese, and olive oil, which is how my mom always makes it. You can easily substitute any type leafy greens (such as arugula or kale), any type of nuts (like pecans or almonds), and any type of hard cheese (Pecorino Romano or parmesan), which makes pesto an extremely versatile recipe that you can make with practically any ingredients you have on hand! I made it with basil (plus a handful of about to expire arugula), walnuts, parmesan cheese, garlic tops (more on that later), garlic cloves, and olive oil. You can even adjust the amounts to your taste (if you like it more garlicky, more cheesy, etc).
 |
| All the ingredients you'll need |
Over the weekend, we went to a place that sells farm fresh veggies (it was basically a beaten-up looking barn with rows and rows of crops behind it, so they were quite literally farm-fresh), and they were selling these purple flower-like things made up tiny little buds that apparently grow on the top of garlic plants - you can see it in the picture. I tasted one of the little buds, and it was extremely pungent, about three times more pungent than a regular garlic clove. I wanted to use it in a pesto recipe, so I scraped off the buds of one garlic top plus I used three garlic cloves.
 |
| (slightly blurry) closeup of the purple garlic top |
I found a lovely little recipe from Tartine and Apron Strings after quite a bit of searching. So without further ado, here's the recipe:
Basil Walnut Pesto
Adapted from Tartine and Apron Strings
3/4 cup hard Italian cheese (such as Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padana; I used Parmesan)
3/4 cup nuts (I used walnuts, but you can use any type of nut)
6 cloves garlic (you can adjust to your taste)
olive oil (I used 3-4 tablespoons)
salt to taste
Put all the dry ingredients in a food processor and blend, pouring in the olive oil as you go. The olive oil will make it easier to process the ingredients, but add as you go so you don't add too much!
Makes approximately 3 cups.
Serve with pasta, bread, chicken, vegetables - the uses are endless!
