• Home
  • Meet Mary
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Northern Gardener Book

My Northern Garden

September 22, 2008 · 5 Comments

Hurry Up, Make Pesto

Recipes

With fall hard upon us, it’s time to make as much pesto as possible. Yesterday while I was waiting for my red pepper relish to marinate, I decided to make a batch of pesto for freezing. Even if you do not have much freezer room, pesto is easy to make and keep for that cold January night when you want something to remind you of summer. Also, there is nothing sadder to see than a basil plant that has experienced frost–hurry up, make pesto!

When the basil is fresh, it’s time for pesto.

I don’t really use a recipe for pesto, but here is the procedure:

  • Pick a big pile of basil and parsley leaves–several cups. Rinse them, pat them dry, and trim off the hard stems. (I use a kitchen shears for this.)
  • Get out a blender.
  • Throw in the blender a small handful of walnuts, a big dollop of chopped garlic (I’m lazy and buy the jarred kind), and a teaspoon or so of salt. Give it a whir to chop things up.
  • Then put the leaves in. I’m pro-parsley and put about 40 percent parsley, 60 percent basil, but others like all basil. Add to the blender enough good olive oil to get things started, maybe 1/2 to 3/4 cup. Start the blender and watch things pull together. The sauce should not be chunky or too thick. Add more oil, if needed, but not so much that it becomes watery. You want a bright green color.
  • Get out some sandwich bags with the zipper closure. Divide the pesto among the bags, depending on how much you typically use for a meal. Lay the bags on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer. When they are frozen the bags can be stored standing up in the door of the freezer or some other convenient place.
  • NOTE: Do not add parmesan cheese to the pesto until you serve it. Cheese does not freeze well.  Without the cheese, frozen pesto will keep for many months–although it probably will not last much past January.

No related posts.

« Red Pepper Relish
Yellow Tomato Jam »

Trackbacks

  1. Basil in the Landscape « My Northern Garden says:
    February 6, 2009 at 2:46 pm

    […] make pesto every year and freeze it, and I think there’s one package left in the freezer. Just talking […]

  2. The Last of the Pesto « My Northern Garden says:
    February 18, 2009 at 8:45 pm

    […] I sauted some chicken breasts and served them with a little pasta bathed in the last of the pesto I froze last summer. It’s a bittersweet moment: I’m out of my homemade pesto, but that […]

  3. Parsley Paradise: Time to Preserve Herbs says:
    October 7, 2018 at 12:42 pm

    […] been making pesto-like spreads from it, which I will freeze for addition to soups, sauces or vegetables during the winter. I also […]

  4. It's Time for Some Pickling and Jamming - My Northern Garden says:
    June 3, 2019 at 11:21 am

    […] so I’ll be picking, freezing and eating them daily, and I have bunches of herbs to make into pesto and a sauce I call salty herb blend, which is great for putting in soups or on […]

  5. July Garden Chores - Minnesota State Horticultural Society says:
    July 7, 2020 at 3:45 pm

    […] you aren’t sure how to use them, consider freezing them. Some herbs freeze well in logs or in pestos. Or try this basil […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed for Posts

Grow it, Minnesota Podcast

Now Available!

My Northern Garden book

Follow on Instagram

Follow on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • How to Pollinate a Meyer Lemon Tree
  • How to Grow Lemons in the North (Plus a Recipe)
  • Garden Ideas from Frank Lloyd Wright
  • How to Winter Sow Wildflowers
  • Growing Lilies in Containers
  • Winter Sowing Native Plants, Two Ways
  • Out-Smarting Japanese Beetles (And Some Good News)
  • Big Changes in Minnesota Hardiness Zone Map
  • Mushrooms Growing in Straw Bales
  • Winter Sowing for Flowers and Vegetables

Post Categories

  • Books/Writing
  • Climate
  • How to
  • Plants
  • Recipes
  • Uncategorized
  • Why We Garden

Copyright © 2022 · captivating theme by Restored 316