Pesto-how do you make it?

[Michelle8]

I cannot use nuts in anything since I have who is allergic to them.

I've never made and am wanting to try it now that I have all this basil growing. It is soooo easy to grow.:)

[lorna-organic]

Can you use sunflower seeds? They might be a suitable substitute. The nuts are meant to enrich pesto. People typically use pine nuts (which are seeds), or toasted walnuts. Personally, I do not care for walnuts in pesto. I have seen a recipe for pesto which contained almonds and lemon, but I did not try it.

[w8in4dave]

There was a pesto in the recipe thread I wanted to use but now I cannot find it.. OMG I want some soooooo bad..Dhoooohp this is recipe thread... I'm gunna go look for it..

[Longtail]

Ive skipped the pine nuts and its still good. Man, I love pesto with basil or with dried tomatoes. I can eat it by the spoonful. Had it on pizza last nite.

[w8in4dave]

With dried tomatoes?? :eek: I love dried tomatoes .. I just wish half the time I find a recipe I don't have to spend 20 bucks to get the stuff I need.. then find out I don't like it..

[Michelle8]

OK...now I'm gonna show my ignorance...Pine nuts aren't nuts?:confused:

[Michelle8]

Lorna,
I can use sunflower seeds. I have pumpkin seeds as well.

[Longtail]

Pine nuts are seeds, mostly from Pinon pine. They are in the pine cones. I was gonna try punkin seeds, might this year, but then I probably wont have any basil by then.

[Michelle8]

Know what you mean...ya either have one or the other, but not both when you need them

[lorna-organic]

Well, like the words beans and peas, the words nuts and seeds are often used interchangeably. But they aren't necessarily what they are called. Cashews are actually the seeds of a fruit. Brazil, almond, walnut, pecan, hazel are all nuts but they are also the seeds of those trees.

Here is a definition, which is as clear as mud:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nut

Nut: "An indehiscent, hard-shelled, one-loculated, one-seeded fruit, such as an acorn or hazelnut.
b. A seed borne within a fruit having a hard shell, as in the peanut, almond, or walnut.
c. The kernel of any of these."


I don't know much about peanut and tree nut allergies, so I just looked it up. It seems the two tend to go hand-in-hand. If sunflower seeds are okay for your child to eat, I would use those for pesto. Toasting them first would enhance the flavor.

I found this info which lists pine nuts as being a type to which a person with nut allergies might have a reaction.

http://foodallergies.about.com/od/nutallergies/p/treenutallergy.htm

"Tree nuts include macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, chestnuts, beechnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts (pignoli or pinon), gingko nuts and hickory nuts. Like peanut and shellfish allergies, tree nut allergies tend to be severe, and are strongly associated with anaphylaxis. Walnuts and cashews are the two tree nuts that cause the most allergic reactions. At least 90 percent of children diagnosed with tree nut allergies will have them for life.
Cross-Reactivity Among Tree Nuts:

Most people with tree nut allergies are not allergic to all tree nuts. However, there is high cross-reactivity among various families of tree nuts. About 12 percent of people who are allergic to one tree nut are allergic to another tree nut. The strongest probability of cross-reactivity is between walnut and pecan, and between cashew and pistachio; however, many tree nuts have some possibility of cross-reaction between each other. For this reason, people who are allergic to one type of tree nut are generally advised to avoid all tree nuts as a precaution."

[Michelle8]

Lorna,

Thank you for looking that up. Katie is allergic to tree nuts. She is not severely allergic to them. Right now she just has a skin reaction when she touches them. I don't know if she has ever eaten one.

One day I allowed her to play with some walnuts. This was during the the holidays and some friends had a bowl of nuts out. We were staying there for 3 days and she was bored and driving me nuts! So I let her play with them. What a learning experience!

A piece of the inside of the nut touched her face. Within minutes her face started swelling up. Her eye and cheek. Her breathing was never affected. But she did swell. I gave her benadryl. She slept really well. The swelling stayed for about 48 hours.

I've never allowed her to play with nuts again:o

[bellzeybubba]

Sometimes if I want to make pesto and I don't have pine nuts I will use pitted black olives instead. It's a little different but it's good.

[lorna-organic]

Michelle, from what I was reading it seems the allergy starts with peanut products, like topical baby products which contain peanut oil! So, I deduce that your little girl's reaction to touching walnuts was not an unusual reaction.

[w8in4dave]

Well, like the words beans and peas, the words nuts and seeds are often used interchangeably. But they aren't necessarily what they are called. Cashews are actually the seeds of a fruit. Brazil, almond, walnut, pecan, hazel are all nuts but they are also the seeds of those trees.

Here is a definition, which is as clear as mud:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nut

Nut: "An indehiscent, hard-shelled, one-loculated, one-seeded fruit, such as an acorn or hazelnut.
b. A seed borne within a fruit having a hard shell, as in the peanut, almond, or walnut.
c. The kernel of any of these."


I don't know much about peanut and tree nut allergies, so I just looked it up. It seems the two tend to go hand-in-hand. If sunflower seeds are okay for your child to eat, I would use those for pesto. Toasting them first would enhance the flavor.

I found this info which lists pine nuts as being a type to which a person with nut allergies might have a reaction.

http://foodallergies.about.com/od/nutallergies/p/treenutallergy.htm

"Tree nuts include macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, chestnuts, beechnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts (pignoli or pinon), gingko nuts and hickory nuts. Like peanut and shellfish allergies, tree nut allergies tend to be severe, and are strongly associated with anaphylaxis. Walnuts and cashews are the two tree nuts that cause the most allergic reactions. At least 90 percent of children diagnosed with tree nut allergies will have them for life.
Cross-Reactivity Among Tree Nuts:

Most people with tree nut allergies are not allergic to all tree nuts. However, there is high cross-reactivity among various families of tree nuts. About 12 percent of people who are allergic to one tree nut are allergic to another tree nut. The strongest probability of cross-reactivity is between walnut and pecan, and between cashew and pistachio; however, many tree nuts have some possibility of cross-reaction between each other. For this reason, people who are allergic to one type of tree nut are generally advised to avoid all tree nuts as a precaution."
lorna always comes up with the knowledge and wisdom.... don't cha just love it??

[Ajla]

I often use sunflower seeds in my pesto, and there was a delicious sage recipe somewhere here. That the one w8?

[Desert Rat]

There are a lot of traditional pesto recipes out there, this is a little different version I make.

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

3 Roasted and seeded red bell peppers (or jarred equivalent)
1/2 c. walnuts toasted (or seeds)
2 cloves garlic crushed and minced
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. basil
1/3 c. olive oil

Put all in a food processor and process until still just a little chunky. We eat it over pan fried ravioli or toss with hot pasta and sprinkle with grated parmesan. Freezes well.

[melodyelf]

I actually prefer pesto without the pine nuts. just basil, a little olive oil, and parmesan cheese to taste. yum!

[Longtail]

NO GARLIC!!

[hikingonthru]

Soooooo....here is what I was thinking...you all chime in...you know those little squares of basil and garlic and such you see in the frozen foods section...the herb in the oil? Whiz up some olive oil and basil and freeze in the ice cube tray. Then if you want pesto you just thaw and add whatever you want to it. Anyone tried freezing basil this way???

[Painted Goat]

Here's one without nuts although it is a bit different

THAI PESTO
MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS
The combination of fresh herbs, gingerroot, and lime juice makes this unusual pesto refreshing and zesty. Tossed into cooked udon or soba noodles or even mixed with warm basmati rice and cooked adzuki beans, it is a treat for the eyes and the palate. If you like spicy foods, add one teaspoon Thai red chili paste to the food processor with the other ingredients.

2 small all-purpose or Yukon gold potatoes (about 6 ounces), peeled and diced
1 ¼ cups packed, stemmed fresh basil leaves
½ cup packed, stemmed fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup packed, stemmed fresh mint leaves
3 medium garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon minced fresh gingerroot
3 medium scallions, white and light green parts, chopped
2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ - ½ cup water or vegetable broth
Salt and ground black pepper

Bring potatoes and several cups of water to boil in medium saucepan. Cook until potatoes are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and cool. Place cooked potatoes, basil, cilantro, mint, garlic, ginger, scallions, tamari, lime juice, and ¼ cup water or broth in food processor or blender. Puree, scraping down sides of bowl
several times, until smooth. If pesto looks too thick, adjust the consistency by adding up to ¼ cup more water or broth. Scrape pesto into bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Use salt sparingly because tamari is
salty.) Use pesto immediately or store.

[Painted Goat]

Here is some more that may help you adapt and tweek!

WHITE BEAN AND ROASTED GARLIC PESTO
MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS

This pesto can be used as a spread or dip. The earthy flavor of the caramelized garlic is tremendous on a baguette with raw or grilled vegetables. It can also be served warm with crisp crudités. The garlic may be prepared a day ahead to save time.

½ cup peeled garlic cloves (about 12 cloves)
Vegetable oil for spraying baking dish
2 15-ounce cans cannellini or navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup packed, stemmed fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ - ½ cup water or vegetable broth
Salt
Pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place garlic cloves in small baking dish and spray with vegetable oil. Bake uncovered, turning occasionally, until golden brown and tender, about 40 minutes. Cool. If making ahead of time, store tightly covered in refrigerator.

Place garlic, beans, basil, lemon juice, oil, and 1/4 cup water or broth in food processor or blender. Puree, scraping down sides of bowl several times, until smooth. If pesto looks too thick, adjust the consistency by adding up to ¼ cup more water or broth. Scrape pesto into bowl. Add salt to taste and cayenne pepper. (Season generously if pesto will be used on pasta.) Use pesto immediately or store.

[Michelle8]

Thanks, Painted goat! Both recipes sound good. I have enough basil to make both then some:D

[Michelle8]

Hot,
Check out the thread about too much basil. Several folks talk about how they freeze it. Someone uses popsicle molds!!:cool:

[w8in4dave]

I often use sunflower seeds in my pesto, and there was a delicious sage recipe somewhere here. That the one w8?

Yes I believe that was the one. Do you think I can find it? Nooope

[w8in4dave]

Here is some more that may help you adapt and tweek!

WHITE BEAN AND ROASTED GARLIC PESTO
MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS

This pesto can be used as a spread or dip. The earthy flavor of the caramelized garlic is tremendous on a baguette with raw or grilled vegetables. It can also be served warm with crisp crudités. The garlic may be prepared a day ahead to save time.

½ cup peeled garlic cloves (about 12 cloves)
Vegetable oil for spraying baking dish
2 15-ounce cans cannellini or navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup packed, stemmed fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ - ½ cup water or vegetable broth
Salt
Pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place garlic cloves in small baking dish and spray with vegetable oil. Bake uncovered, turning occasionally, until golden brown and tender, about 40 minutes. Cool. If making ahead of time, store tightly covered in refrigerator.

Place garlic, beans, basil, lemon juice, oil, and 1/4 cup water or broth in food processor or blender. Puree, scraping down sides of bowl several times, until smooth. If pesto looks too thick, adjust the consistency by adding up to ¼ cup more water or broth. Scrape pesto into bowl. Add salt to taste and cayenne pepper. (Season generously if pesto will be used on pasta.) Use pesto immediately or store.
This one sounds interesting also ;D

[Ajla]

Yes I believe that was the one. Do you think I can find it? Nooope

There was a thread by crazyknitter about growing your own basil?

[Imp]

I make the pesto, then freeze small mounds in the amounts most commonly used by us on a cookie sheet ( line with some cling film to be able to pop the mounds off easily), then put the mounds in a larger labeled baggie in the freezer for future use. If I am real slow, I put each mound in a twist of waxed paper after freezing them and before putting them into the bigger baggie.

Great to put a dab on boiled potatoes, in the stewed tomatoes and okra, wakes up the canned green beans with just a smidge, and makes a great ingrediant in meat marinades and rubs as well as pizzas and pastas.

[Michelle8]

Thanks for the ideas, Imp. I love meat marinades. I am going to make a list of how you use yours. I love the idea of freezing it. I'm going to make some this week and I'll let you all know how it tastes.

M

[w8in4dave]

you guys think I can dig my basil up and bring it in the house???

[Michelle8]

I would think it depends on big it is,eh?

[silverseeds]

Pine nuts are seeds, mostly from Pinon pine. They are in the pine cones. I was gonna try punkin seeds, might this year, but then I probably wont have any basil by then.

Well walnuts, and pecans, and acorns, pecans and all the other nuts are "seeds" too. It is no different for pines.

[maggie c]

You know, I think if I were you I'd simply leave out the nuts, and keep on trucking. It will be just as tasty, just not quite as thick. However, if you add more cheese, you'll never notice the nuts aren't there. :D

I had posted my Pesto recipe (such as it is) on that other thread, but FWIW:

Put as much (washed/stems removed) basil as you got, or as much as will fit into a food processor or blender.
Add a clove (or more if you like garlic) of garlic. Toss in a couple of pinches of salt.
Add about a half a cup of olive oil.
Start your processor, and keep it running. Watch carefully - as soon as your basil starts getting blended, you want to add enough olive oil to create a smooth, loose paste. You want it to have some olive oil pooling up when you stop blending, but not a lot.
Now, if you were going to add pine nuts/walnuts, you add a handful or so, and blend until smooth. Add until you like the way it tastes.
Add more olive oil if it is getting too thick.
Keep tasting throughout the process. Add more garlic if it needs it. Add more salt if it needs it. You really can't mess this up. :p

Now, if you want to freeze it, now is a good time. I divide my pesto into small plastic containers and freeze it at this point. Putting a small covering of olive oil helps keep your basil green as you freeze it. But, if you want to eat it soon without freezing, then at this point you add parmesan or romano cheese and butter. Add more cheese if you aren't adding nuts (at least 3/4 c.). In fact, you could grate the cheese yourself on a somewhat less-fine way to add texture to your pesto.

Viola! Pesto. Enjoy!

[Michelle8]

Thanks, Maggie.

I will try it tomorrow.
:oI've never had pesto:o

[w8in4dave]

michelle I found this in the hundreds of stuff I was looking at ...
Tomato Pesto
1/2 one large tomato
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 C. packed Parsley Or Basil
1 tsp. salt

[Michelle8]

Wendy,
Cool. Thanks!

[w8in4dave]

I made some :) I went out and bought a lil chopper...11.00 ,cheapest thing I could find. I was going to buy some basil at the store but they only sold it in lil bity things for 2 bucks... Nope... so I went to the fresh market store.. Nope.. So came home went out in my garden dug up my sweet basil and took some leaves off .. And I made some.. A little strong .. I forgot my recipes at my daughters ughhh so any hoo..I winged it. I did but a floret of broccoli in it and that did tame the taste down a bit. I didn't use pine nuts.. couldn't find them either so I had some pecans at home used those :) I love the stuff!! I am in love!! I'll tweek it in for sure.. I almost forgot the cheese tho and that helped tone it down a tad... that is on of my MUFA foods :) .. So thanks everyone.. I think next time I will put some tomatoes in it..

[w8in4dave]

So I forgot to say.... Ok I dug up my sweet basil and put it in a pot.. I cut all the flowers off of it and right now it is in the garage on the picnic table.. I need to add somemore dirt to it , hubbs is hiding it I know..and he is at work.. LOL so anyhoo the stalk looks a lil woody.. but other than that it looks healthy.. I will take a pic and show you later..If it starts to look like it is going to die I'm going to take all the leaves off and freeze them :)

[bellzeybubba]

If you do use pine nuts, I strongly recommend toasting them first. Really adds to the flavor.

[w8in4dave]

Well the thing with the mufa is if ya eat nuts they are supposed to be raw ... I liked the pecans .. I also bought a bag of mixed nuts just to see if I will like them also .. I'm sure I will.

[lorna-organic]

Parsley can be used to stretch, or tame, pesto. I've done a combo of arugula and basil pesto. I prefer the parsley and basil, even though I am a big fan of arugula.

[bellzeybubba]

Spinach can also :)

[w8in4dave]

Yea beings it was my first time making it .. I kinda stuck to what I thought was in the recipe.. but I was so close to buying parsley... and or spinach.. I thought if I don't like it I could make a salad with the rest ... but bottom line is .. I had 20 bucks 11 of it went to the chopper :) I will wait till hubbs gets payed to try something eles

[w8in4dave]

So ... I bought some Premium basil Pesto.. Well there was a tip on the lid... It says .. Freeze between uses .... We ok it was pretty good :) I didn't eat it all and so ok I froze it.. Dang I wanted to have some today and guess what?? It is frozen!! So it has been out for an hour and still frozen!! Darn It!!

[VBLACK]

Can someone here tell me????If the sweet basil stalks turn brown is it time to just pick it all and put it up? I am guessing yes...It looks pretty much done. Already seeded. Thanks!

[lorna-organic]

Yes, V, get those leaves now. If you cut off the flower stalks, you may get a few more leaves. The plant will keep trying to procreate. I use the flowers in my pesto, along with the leaves.

[VBLACK]

Thanks Lorna! I will do that! You use the flowers too! Hum. Does that taste any different?

[w8in4dave]

ohhh darn I pinched my flowers off, I read somewhere that it will make more leaves come out if you do that.......

[lorna-organic]

The flowers have a strong taste of basil, V. Yes, Wendy, the plants will keep trying to grow after deadheading. It is their mission to procreate, to put out seeds. :) Basil is not frost hardy, a light frost will do the plants in.

[w8in4dave]

hafta bring mine in then..... :D