One of the greatest things about summer is basil. Yes, you can get it all year round these days, but summer is when basil is in season and you really get the full flavour. At the moment, the leaves are big and green, and it has a lovely sweet fragrance.
When basil is at its best I like to make pesto. Pesto is wonderful on bread or fresh pasta. It’s simple and delicious with that rustic Italian feel.
Today we had pesto for lunch on ciabatta with perfectly ripe cherry tomatoes and marinated goat’s feta, accompanied with a chilled bottle of Dominique Portet Rosé. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Here’s my recipe:
2 cups basil leaves
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbs pine nuts, toasted
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
20g freshly grated Parmesan reggiano cheese
Put the basil leaves, garlic, toasted pine nuts and half the oil in the food processor and blend until smooth. Scrape into a bowl, stir in the cheese and remaining oil, and mix well. Serve immediately, or store in a screw-top jar. Seal in the freshness and stop the leaves from blackening, cover the pesto with a thin film of olive oil before closing the jar. The recipe makes about 1½ cups of pesto.