Garden Pesto

Canning/Preserving
Written By Makayla Hubartt

There are SO many amazing qualities to this sauce, marinade, dip, spread, whatever you want to use it for. The versatility of this dish is amazing. Whether freshly made in the spring and summer or frozen to use during the colder months of the year, you can’t go wrong! There’s nothing better than opening that jar in the dead of winter and smelling that fresh garden pesto. Another amazing thing about this dish is you can modify it to taste any way you prefer. The main ingredients can be heightened or lessened depending on your preferences.

This dish itself can be a bit costly to make, between the parmesan cheese and the pine nuts. Alternatives of course are growing your own basil and garlic in your garden to save money in that department and substituting the pine nuts for walnuts (or any nut you enjoy that is versatile in food dishes). I’ve experimented with toasted walnuts and think they add wonderful flavor, but the pine nuts are where it's at! Toasted of course to release the butteriness.

The longest part of the making of pesto is cleaning your basil and picking the leaves off the stem and shredding the parmesan cheese. Other than that, it’s a very simple recipe that adds so much flavor to any meal. You’d think after tasting it that it took hours to pack so much flavor in one small dish.

When I preserve my pesto, I tend to make it very garlicy and less cheesy because I like to put fresh cheese on my dish when I serve it. However, if I’m making it fresh to use right then I will add the proper amount of cheese. If you don’t care for a strong garlic flavor, you can use 1 clove instead of 4, if you like it to be nuttier add more pine nuts to bring out that hearty flavor. I’ve experimented with this recipe so much and have never been disappointed.

  • 4 Garlic Cloves

    ½ Cup Olive oil

    Pinch of Salt & Pepper

    2 Oz. (1/4 Cup) Toasted Pine Nuts

    ¾ Cup Parmesan Cheese (Grated)

    1 tsp. Lemon Juice

    1 Cup Fresh Basil (Tightly Packed)

  • Smash and peal your garlic.

    Clean your basil and pick off leaves.

    Toast your pine nuts over medium heat for a couple minutes until golden brown, let cool.

    Combine garlic cloves and toasted pine nuts in blender and pulse until chopped. Add the basil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice; pulse until basil is chopped. Add the parmesan cheese, pulse a couple times. Put food processor on low and add the olive oil slowly.



Makayla Hubartt