For anyone interested here is my recipe for fresh pesto sauce. I first made pesto from the leaves of a supermarket basil plant that I had grown to 2.5ft (75cm) high in around 6 weeks (during an unusually hot Scottish summer!). This was achieved by watering the plant using my membrane controlled watering system (see houseplant forum posts).
The recipe below makes enough pesto for around 8 people which is not bad value from an initial spend of ~50p (90 cents)on the basil. It will freeze ok.
100g fresh basil leaves
20g sea salt
50g pine nuts
4 (or 6!) cloves of garlic
110g Parmesan cheese
250ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
You could blend all the ingredients in a food processor but using a mortar and pestle is the more authentic way. Grind the basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic and sea salt in the mortar until you see a pulp begin to form. Add the Parmesan cheese a little at a time until a thick paste has been formed. Now pour in the oil a little at a time and work with the pestle until it has all been absorbed. Serve with your favourite pasta, fresh bread or even boiled new potatos (and a fine Italian white wine!).
You might even want to experiment by swapping the pine nuts with pistacchio nuts.
Chris
