Pesto Sauce

Basil Pesto

Plant some basil seeds indoors in small pots.

Transfer them later to larger containers and place outdoors in a sunny spot when the weather is warm. Potted basil plants are pretty and you'll be able to pick your own fresh basil to make pesto sauce this summer.

• 2 cups firmly-packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground pepper
• 1 tsp. chopped garlic
• 2 Tbsp. pine nuts
• 1/2 cup virgin olive oil or more
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Put basil, seasoning, garlic, pine nuts and olive oil in a blender.

Blend at high speed to make a smooth, thick puree, stopping to push down herbs and add more oil if necessary.

Turn off, add cheese, blend in.

To serve with pasta, cook a 900 gram package of pasta (about a pound).

Remove pasta from water with a fork, or drain.

Toss hot pasta with 2 tbsp. olive oil or 1/4 cup butter.

Toss with prepared pesto sauce.

To make ahead:

Blend all pesto ingredients but the cheese.

Freeze the sauce--add the parmesan after thawing.

Refrigerate this sauce for a couple of days.

it keeps better if you put it in a bowl, drizzle a surface layer of olive oil over the sauce, cover, and refrigerate.

Traditional Genovese Basil Pesto Sauce 

Enough for 1 lb. macaroni, or fettucelle (thin egg noodles.) Also good in minestrone soup.

Use small, young basil leaves placed in a mortar with fresh garlic, a pinch of salt, grated Sardo and Parmesan cheeses. Pound everything to a paste with a pestle. If Sardo cheese isn't available, double the Parmesan. Blend in the olive oil and sometimes a little butter.

If you don't have a mortar and pestle, use a blender.

• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup grated Sardo cheese (a salty cheese from Sardinia)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 walnut (optional)
• 3 Tbsp butter (optional)
• 1 cup olive oil

Place basil, garlic, walnut, cheese, salt in a mortar.

Pound into a paste, then blend in butter and oil. Taste for seasoning.

Cilantro Pesto

Good to make when there's a lot growing in the garden as it takes 6 bunches of fresh cilantro to yield 1-1/4 cups of pesto. Freeze in ice cube trays, then put cubes of pesto sauce in a freezer bag to use when needed to flavor quesadillas and enchilladas. 1/4 cup of sauce is enough to flavour eight 8-inch tortillas.  Refrigerate fresh pesto sauce up to 1 week.

• 6 bunches fresh cilantro, stems removed
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp salt

1. In a food processor, process all ingredients until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.
2. Refrigerate or freeze until using in a recipe.

Sunflower Seed Pesto

Pesto will be creamier and healthier if you soak the seeds first, but if in a hurry, you can use them dry.

• 1/2 cup raw shelled sunflower seeds
• 1 small garlic clove
• 2 cups (packed) arugula leaves
• 1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp. honey
• 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• kosher salt to taste

1. Rinse sunflower seeds, place in small bowl or jar, add cold water to cover seeds by 1 inch.
2. Cover and soak seeds overnight at room temperature. Drain and rinse seeds.
3. Puree seeds until smooth with remaining ingredients, then season with salt to taste.
4. Pesto can be thinned with water if too thick.