Basil Pesto - so simple and easy!

I did not grow up being fond of pesto.  I actually kind of avoided it.  Then we found ourselves having a bunch of cilantro left over years ago, and I found a simple cilantro pesto recipe (to be talked about later!), and fell in love.

We have been blessed with a lot of basil in our garden.  The other day Ezzie and I headed out and picked quite a bit.  Our basil is still quite bushy too!

Ezzie picking basil.  The basil is between two bell pepper plants.  He is such a great picker!

3 Bowls Full!

Basil will only grow during the warm months here, so Jon and I have talked about what to do with it.  We eat it fresh almost daily, but we can't keep up with it's growth, and we'd like to enjoy it in the cold months too.  We could freeze it, but this kind of is overwhelming to me.  What is the best way to freeze basil?  Will it taste ok?  Will I forget we even have it and then have wasted-freezer-burned-basil?  So, I'd rather make, and freeze, pesto.  Weird, and maybe illogical that making a recipe and freezing it seems easier and better in my mind, but whatever - we will have pesto at our command! ;)

If you are in need/want of an easy and yummy pesto recipe, here is what we do.  We love it.

Do you remember those bowls of basil?  Each one will make a recipe of pesto that will work for 1lb of pasta.

To each bowl's worth add:
- Fresh grated Parmesan 1/4 C
- Lemon zest 1/8-1/4 t
- A sprinkle of red pepper flakes (this is to your taste or heat level!)
- 1/8 t of salt (beware - it is very very easy to oversalt.  You may even want to omit the salt until you are using the pesto in your dish)

I then add in 2-3 garlic cloves and about 1/4 C olive oil.

 Then the processing begins. I add enough olive oil for a nice paste to develop.

Once done, I put a baggie inside a cup, invert the top, fill, and close!

 This little baggie goes into the freezer.  Once we are ready to use it, we simply drain our pasta, place it in the pot and heat until the parmesan is bubbling.  With the heat off, we then return the pasta to the pot and turn to coat.  So easy, and so yummy!

The thing I like about this recipe is that I almost always have the ingredients on hand.  The only ingredient that might be a miss is the lemon zest, but I froze a ton of that about a year ago, and we still use it! (It is still good :))

So, for your folks who like the recipe in one place apart from the pics, this is for you (and for me... I am one of those people :)).  Even though I eyeball this recipe most of the time (who wants the extra clean-up of measuring utensils???), here is the estimated recipe for you measuring folks who love to use lots of spoons and such :)

Basil Pesto - super easy
- 1 bunch basil (or 1.5-2 C loose basil leaves)
- 1/4 C grated parmesan
- 1/8 t lemon zest
- 1/8 t red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
- 1/8 t salt
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1/4-1/2 C extra virgin olive oil

Add all ingredients to a food processor with 1/4C oil.  Process well.  Scrape down sides if necessary.  Continue processing and adding oil until everything is mixing well.

To freeze: place in plastic baggie, squeeze out extra air, close, squish contents flat and freeze!

To prepare: heat until parmesan is bubbly, and then add to your favorite pasta (1lb works for this recipe), meat, quinoa, etc.

Enjoy!