Basil and parsley pesto

Fresh basil is very plentiful in August and so making pesto helps us to enjoy it throughout the winter. Although this recipe originally called for only basil, I have added the parsley to soften the taste. You will need a food processor for this. I freeze it in ice cube trays and use the amount you need as a thick paste on fish or chicken. You can also spread it over baguette slices. When I look at Renée's pita chips below, I am wondering if I might use it as a base with the oil for making pitat chips. I will let you know if it works.

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe


2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 Combine the basil with the pine nuts in food processor and pulse a few times.
Add the garlic and pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.


Yield: Makes a little more than 1 cup.

Enjoy

Red Tomato Fruit Ketchup

This is a heirloom recipe for me. My mother made it when I was young and the recipe is preserved in her handwritten recipe book in which her most used recipes are stained with memories. Today is a special day: I am posting her recipe as it is the 45th anniversary of her death.

Red Tomato Ketchup
3 large onions
3 pears
3 peaches
15 tomatoes
2 cups white sugar
1 tbsp salt
2 cups white vinegar
3 tbsp pickling spice

Dice fruit and place in a large saucepan. Add sugar, salt and vinegar to fruit. Wrap and tie pickling spice in a cheesecloth and add to mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 1 ½ hours. Remove cheesecloth filled with pickling spice and pour into sterilized mason jars. Cover and seal.

Sorrel Pesto

Sorrel Pesto:
This recipe calls for garden sorrel that is a perennial herb that can be cultivated as a herb or a leafy vegetable. It looks like a large pale green spinach leaf and tastes lemon-y. It can be used fresh added to lettuce or spinach salads. It can be cooked and added to soups or other dishes for flavouring. I live in zone 4 for gardens and it produces abundantly each year. You can cut it back to a few inches off the ground and it will grow again and again in the same season. I found this recipe at RecipeSource.com in the summer of 2010 and have used it as a pasta coating and a thick sauce for fish.

2 cups coarsely chopped fresh sorrel, ribs removed
1/3 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil

In a food processor or blender puree the sorrel, the parsley, the garlic, the parmesan, the pine nuts and the oil, transfer the pesto to a jar with a tight fitting lid and chill it, covered. The pesto keeps, covered and chilled, for 2 weeks. Makes about 1 cup.
I usually make a double or triple recipe at a time. Then I pour the pesto into a flexible plastic ice cube tray, cover it and put it in the freezer. After it is thoroughly frozen I package the individual cubes in freezer baggies, ready for individual use.
To use the pesto as a thick sauce for fish: You can use this sauce for cooking pretty well any kind of filleted fish. I prefer it with salmon or rainbow trout. It is also good with white fish, such as tilapia or filet of sole. Depending on the size of the fillet of fish, I usually use one cube per fillet. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the fish in a baking dish and spread the top of filet with fish sauce. Bake uncovered. The time will vary according to thickness of fillet. For 1-2 serving size, bake between 12 and 15 minutes.

To use the pesto as a pasta sauce: For every pound of dried pasta cooking in a kettle of boiling water, stir together in a heated serving bowl 3/4 cup of the pesto and 2/3 cup of the hot cooking water. When the pasta is al dente, drain it in a colander, add it to the pesto mixture, and toss the mixture until the pasta is coated well. Vermicelli works very well with this recipe.