To blanch or not to blanch. That is the question. I have a love/hate relationship with Basil Pesto. When it’s freshly made, it’s heady – the vibrancy, the aroma, the freshness. But it very quickly degrades into something that’s too strong, too dark, even dank. Icky.
Which is why I started making basil pesto in the mortar and pestle in a small enough quantity for whatever dish I was making.
But then I read a recipe for making basil oil that entailed blanching the basil before infusing the oil, to preserve that vibrant green color. I thought to myself, if it works for basil oil, it must work for pesto. And it does!
There are detractors to the blanching approach – they contend that it mutes the flavors a bit. But I haven’t found that to be the case. I do use the food processor for this big batch approach in the summer when the garden is overflowing with basil, but I’m careful not to over process. I like some chunkiness to it – the garlic, the basil, the cheese, each still present in the mix.
Basil Pesto
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh basil leaves (blanched)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 T fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 t kosher salt
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Blanch the basil – Plunge the basil stems into boiling water for no more than ten seconds. Pull the leaves off the stems, and measure out 4 packed cups of blanched basil leaves.
- Blend the pesto – Drop the garlic cloves into the food processor while it's running and continue running until the garlic has stopped moving and bouncing off the sides of the bowl. Add the lemon juice, salt, and basil, and pulse to combine.
- Finish the pesto – With the food processor running, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream. Add the cheese, and pulse to combine.
Notes
I can’t make enough Basil Pesto in the summer. It freezes beautifully, but no matter how much I “put up” we always run out mid-winter, if not before. Here are some of my recipes where Basil Pesto shines: