Presto! Pesto!

It’s that time of year where I attempt to make use of the remaining herbs and vegetables in my garden. I’ll dry any herbs that are left and fry up any green tomatoes. For the basil, it’s time to shine! Pesto is an easy way to use up a lot of basil, and it freezes well, so you’ll be able to enjoy that “fresh from the garden” flavor even when the world is covered in a layer of snow.

You’ll need a food processor for this recipe. And be warned, pine nuts are not cheap. You’re best bet is to find a place that sells them in bulk. This will yield one cup of pesto. You will need:

2 cups of packed fresh basil leaves

2 cloves of garlic

¼ cup of pine nuts

2/3 a cup of extra-virgin olive oil, divided in two

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup of freshly grated Pecorino cheese

Combine the basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse it until coarsely chopped. I only have a small food processor, so I found the best way to do this was to grind up one cup of basil at a time, along with the garlic, and then I added the pine nuts after that. Add ½ cup of oil to the processor until the mixture is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

If you’re using immediately, add the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer the pesto into a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese.

If you’re freezing the pesto, transfer it into an air-tight container and drizzle the remaining oil over the top. (This will preserve the pesto). Freeze for up to three months. When you are ready to use it, thaw it and stir in the cheese. You’ll find many uses for pesto besides pasta. See All Things Quesadilla, use it to make pesto may for sandwiches, or spread pesto over a baguette, add some cheese, and toast it in the oven for an easy and delicious appetizer.

Market-inspired cooking

This is a great dish for the weekend, and especially if you are paying a visit to the Rochester Public Market tomorrow morning. I created this for Valentine's Day, hence the heart shaped raviolis. While you won't be able to score those delicious four-cheese ravs tomorrow, the heart of this dish (pun intended) is the homemade ravioli's you can get for $8-9 per dozen at the Public Market inside the fish building. There are tons of variety flavors to chose from.

Once you pick out your pasta, then stop by one of the oh-so-great smelling fish stands and pick up some of the biggest shrimp they have...a dozen should suffice if you're feeding two people. When you get them home, you'll have to peel and de-vein them. When I cook the shrimp, I coat them in blackening season which I get from The Spice Guy at the market.

For the sauce I buy a jar of store-bought sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce. I doctor it up by adding some shallots, garlic, a can of fire-roasted tomatoes (they aren't hot...fire roasted just means they have been roasted over a fire), some heavy cream, and shredded asiago or any kind of Italian cheese. You can add some pepper as well.

Hope this inspires you at the market tomorrow.