Garden Fresh Pesto

Now, I'm not a gardener by any means. At best, I chuck some seeds in the ground and see what happens! I've had moderate success growing zucchinis, beans, and pumpkins over the years but that's about it! Except for basil.

I once accidentally grew basil, so it can't be that hard, right?

A few months after moving to a new house, I spotted a plant growing in the garden that seemed vaguely familiar... upon inspection, it was a giant basil plant - score! I guess it had self seeded or something, but I'll count it as a win.

Another time, I was doing some tidying up in my bosses garden, and she had a potted basil plant - and those weren't weeds growing in the soil all around that section of pot plants - that was more basil! A basil forest! So by tidying up the basil forest, the "weeding" got done, and everyone got pesto!

Now, living where we are, earlier in the year I purchased some basil seedlings on a whim, chucked them in an old concrete laundry tub out the front of my house, and voilà - they're thriving! As they had all shot up flower heads and were making a bit of a mess, I got into them and tidied them all up; trimming some heads, and picking some leaves, and hopefully we get some self seeding basil next time!

My 3yo was a great helper, picking the biggest leaves and leaving the fresh shoots of new growth to keep growing so that we can have more for next time, but we got a bowl full of basil to make a double batch of pesto with!

This recipe is an adaptation of a few that I have tried; it's also a "double recipe" as it yields two jars and is double the amount of the original recipes I based it off. This amount is easy to halve, or times by one-and-a-half to make a smaller or bigger batch depending on how much basil you can get your hands on.

The biggest hack when it comes to making pesto at home is to blitz the nuts or seeds you are using to a crumb consistency before mixing up the wet ingredients seperately and then mixing the nuts or seeds back in. This lets you get away with making pesto in a lower powered machine like a nutri bullet or a jug blender. You can also make it a bit wetter to make it easier on your machine (or if you like a less thick pesto), by using less nuts/seeds, or upping your basil and olive oil mix slightly. I prefer to keep equal weights of olive oil and basil for the best consistency.

I like this recipe because you can easily adjust your base ingredient depending on what you have in the pantry or what you like the taste of the best. I have even used almonds for the nut portion in a pinch! (Though soaked almonds worked better than raw). But any nuts or seeds or a combination work - and you can find a flavour profile that you like: nutty, creamy, strong, light, etc... Be mindful that homemade pestos tend to set firmer after being refrigerated and won't scoop or stir the same way as a store bought one. The mix will also oxidize slightly and won't be as vibrant and green the days following making it (though it will still taste great!) You can preserve your pesto for longer by smoothing the top and adding a layer of olive oil on top to stop air getting to your pesto and allowing it to spoil.

Some of my favourite ways to enjoy pesto is as a dip with crackers or carrot sticks, as a pasta sauce, on eggs or lunch wraps, or as the sauce layer on pizza or open grill toasties (layer pesto, tomato, and cheese on toast under the grill, then top with an optional fried egg).

Have fun making your pesto and finding new ways to enjoy it!

Garden Fresh Pesto

Ingredients:

120g fresh basil

120g olive oil

2-4 garlic cloves (to taste)

300g or 2-2.5cups of nuts and/or seeds (macadamias, cashews, sunflower seeds, and/or pine nuts, etc)

2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (or 50g parmesan, grated)

1 tsp salt

2 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

Method:

1. Add nuts, seeds, and nutritional yeast to a blender or food processor and blitz to a coarse crumb. Put aside in a bowl.

2. Combine remaining ingredients in food processor and blend to a paste.

3. Add nut mix back in and pulse to combine (you can probably get away with adding everything together if you have a thermomix or similar high powered food processor, but for jug blenders and nutri bullet type blenders, this works better).

4. Once desired consistency is achieved, place your pesto into jars, level it out and top with a layer of olive oil to keep it fresher for longer.

5. Store in the fridge and enjoy with crackers, pasta, eggs, or on wraps.