Hi everyone! Here is my latest garden update. The peas and radishes are goners. I think the peas were too crowded, and the radishes didn’t get enough sun. But the beans are coming in great, I’ve got some really cute little cucumbers growing, I’ve harvested some tomatoes (I got an additional tomato plant to increase the harvest) and I’ve used them in salads with the lettuce, the kale is looking fantastic, and I’ll have a bunch of bell and Serrano peppers ready to use in the next week or two. The cabbage is also starting to form, and the leaves are incredible. I’m really excited to do more than salads with all this fresh produce.
However, my basil in the herb garden needs to be used right away. The basil always seems to reach its peak in about 4 months, and I really need to find more recipes for it.
Luckily, my husband really like caprese salad, so I’ve served about a one a week for the last couple of months. It is so easy. Just slice a tomato in about ¼ inch slices, and put a slice of mozzarella and a basil leaf between each slice. Finish with balsamic vinegar drizzle. You can use the aged Modena balsamic you can find at the grocery store, but it’s kind of pricy, or just reduce some balsamic yourself. For a balsamic reduction, put about a ½ cup of balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan, bring it to a boil, and turn down the burner to simmer until it reaches the desired consistency. I usually let it simmer for 10 minutes. It does thicken a bit more a it cools. Once it is cool, I drizzle it on the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.
However, I’ve got a whole bunch of basil to use right away, and the best way to accomplish that is by making a pesto sauce. Most pesto recipes just use the basil leaves, which to me is a bit too much basil taste. I like to mellow the taste out by swapping out a quarter of the basil leaves with baby spinach leaves. Most recipes also call for pine nuts, which can be pretty pricy. I actually prefer walnuts, and they were on sale at my local store this week. I think walnuts make the pesto more substantial. I also use a slightly ribbed pasta, such as cavatappi. The groves in the pasta grab onto and hold the sauce better than a pasta with a smooth surface, and each bite is more satisfying.
Basil, Spinach, Walnut Pesto Sauce
Ingredients:
1 ½ cup fresh basil leaves
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
3 cloves chopped garlic
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
Instructions:
Place the basil and spinach leaves and walnuts into a food processor and pulse until broken down and well mixed.
Add the garlic and parmesan and pulse several times to combine. Scrape down the sides, if necessary.
Drizzle in the olive oil in a steady stream while the food processor is running. This helps emulsify the mixture so the oil doesn’t separate. Scrape down the sides as needed to incorporate everything.
Add the salt and pepper, pulse a couple of times to incorporate, and enjoy!
As I mentioned above, I prefer to use cavatappi pasta, I measured out the amount I needed and cooked it in salted, boiling water for about 8 minutes for an al dente texture. I tossed a small amount of the pesto with the noodles, and it was delicious. The combination of basil, garlic and parmesan just lights up your mouth. This can easily be a main dish, or as a side dish. I especially love it with steamed mussels or clams, which we’ll talk about later.
