T'is The Season For Pesto

It's mid August and you know what that means. Basil harvesting. Yup, it's that time of year for pesto . It's one of the easiest sauces to make. It's also one of the most versatile. It can be swirled onto a pizza or coating gnocchi. Have fun with it.



Pesto sauce dates as far back as Roman times. However it was the ancient Ligurians, probably acquiring the seeds from sailors stopping in Genoa, who made it. it's a simple sauce of dried basil leaves puned with pine or walnuts and then turned into a "cream" Olive oil is then added or cheese for a smoother consistency. Our family recipe calls for olive oil and walnuts and thenwe freeze it in batches. It's good mixed with tomato sauce or plain on gnocchis.

What you do with your pesto is entirely up to you. Again you canb use it as a pizza topping (not too generous though, because it is strong) . it;s better on pasta making a different and unique sauce for spaghetti or fettucini. You can use a little of it on grilled steak to bring out the flavor as well.

if you have a lot of basil leaves then makwe a few batches of pesto. It is a handy sauce to use and also flavorful. It;s also easy to whip too.