I remember feeling this way last summer— overwhelmed. But in a good way. As the growing season progresses, it’s always thrilling to see what new vegetables arrive in my weekly CSA delivery. This year, we had an abundance of food from our local Grant Family Farms in the first week. In one of our early deliveries, I was so excited to see fresh dill arrive along with huge bunches of parsley and cilantro. Woohoo. There are few things more exciting to a cook than fresh herbs.

Fortunately, I know the secret for storing fresh herbs for weeks. But unfortunately, I procrastinated using much of my cilantro and parsley so that by the third week of getting more parsley and cilantro, my refrigerator was completely overrun with beautiful leafy green herbs and I was officially overwhelmed. What to do with all of this cilantro and parsley— more herbs that our humble household of two can comfortably manage.

Ah, but that is the one of the reasons I love being a CSA member— it forces me to step outside of my comfort zone. I find that my desire not to waste any food pushes me to find new and creative ways to use what we’re given each week. Sometimes this can be challenging.

Pesto anyone?

So finally, with great fear of letting my precious herbs go to waste, I resorted to pesto. Oh how I dislike the word ‘resorted’ in this context because it makes pesto sound like the dreaded white elephant gift that gets stuck in a box in the basement for years until it’s discovered and re-gifted at the next holiday party. But no, that is really not how I intended the word. Even a cruise through the online thesaurus could not help me muster up a different word, so please forgive the negative connotation. Pesto is an wonderfully reliable way to preserve the garden’s finest herbs. I’ve always loved basil pesto. And have recently discovered that cilantro and parsley pesto are just as wonderful, only different. The great thing about pesto is that it’s easy. And it freezes really well, so you can make a large batch and enjoy your herbs for months.

The essential pesto ingredients

There are essentially five key ingredients in a pesto:

1. Fresh herbs or greens. Basil is traditional, but great pesto can be made with a variety of different ingredients, including parsley, cilantro, arugula, spinach, kale, and even garlic scapes (see recipe below). Many delicious pestos are made using a combination of greens and herbs. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
2. Nuts. Pine nuts are traditionally used with basil pestos, but almost any nut will do. Get creative. Try pecans, walnuts, almonds or macadamia nuts. I haven’t tried this yet, but perhaps our super-nutritious friend, the sunflower seed might be a good stand-in for the pine nut. I’ll let you know.
3. Oil. I’ve never seen a recipe that doesn’t use olive oil (preferably extra virgin), but who says you can’t experiment with another high-quality oil? Not me.
4. Garlic. ‘Nuf said.
5. Cheese. Parmesan or Pecorino Romano are the regular suspects. For a vegan pesto, try substituting nutritional yeast for the cheese. Or, just leave it out altogether. I’ve made many fantastic pestos without cheese.

Make it like you like it

There are probably thousands of pesto recipes floating around in cyberspace and they are all basically the same. Some call for one garlic clove, others for as many as five. Some mix basil and parsley. Some call for roasting the nuts first and I’ve seen one that calls for blanching almonds. Pesto is one of those sauces where the rules don’t apply. Here’s my recommendation for you. Start with the basic recipé that I provide below, and then change it up to make it exactly what you like. If you like more garlic, by all means, add more garlic. If you prefer walnuts to pine nuts, go for it. Of course this means you may have to play with your food (gasp) before finding your perfect pesto.

Basic pesto recipe

Pesto is easy. Having a food processor makes it’s especially easy, but you can make great pesto with a pestle and mortar. Interestingly, the word pesto is derived from the same root of the word pestle, meaning ground or pounded. So there you have it.

Ingredients (see above for ingredient notes)
2 cups packed basil, parsley, or cilantro
1 to 2 cloves garlic (depending on your taste)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts
1/2 cup Pecorino or Parmesan cheese

Directions
Place the herbs, nuts and garlic in a food processor and blend. If you are not going to freeze your pesto, go ahead and add your cheese to the food processor before blending. If you are going to freeze your pesto, see the next section on Tips for freezing pesto. Scrape down the sides and slowly add the oil through the tube until you have a the desired consistency. Pestos are generally thick, but if you want a thinner sauce, add more oil.

Enjoy!

Tips for freezing pesto

1. If you know you’re going to freeze your pesto, leave out the cheese and stir it in when you thaw your pesto. I have frozen pesto with the cheese, and it tastes ok, but freezing cheese often changes the consistency and flavor. Your frozen pesto will taste better much better if you add in the cheese when you thaw it out.
2. Drizzle a little oil on top of your pesto before you freeze it. When you place your pesto in an airtight container, try drizzling a bit of oil on the top surface. This helps preserve the herb and prevent freezer burn.

Other great pesto recipes

Both of  the following recipes are from Elana’s Pantry, a great site for recipes specifically created for people who are gluten free. Even if you aren’t gluten free, I recommend the site as Elana always has interesting, delicious recipes.

Parsley Pesto with Sundried Tomatoes
Kale Almond Pesto

Here’s a great recipe for Garlic Scape and Almond Pesto that came form my local CSA, Grant Family Farms. Garlic Scapes are the flower stems of the garlic plant which are typically removed early in order to send the plant’s energy to the bulb. Garlic Scapes, as you might imagine, taste like a slightly spicy, mild garlic flavor. They can be chopped and sautéed, added to soups, or stirfry dishes, or eaten raw in salads. And then there’s my favorite, Garlic Scape Pesto.

Garlic Scape and Almond Pesto (reprinted with permission from Grant Family Farms)

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients
10 garlic scapes, finely chopped
1/3 to 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (to taste and texture)
1/3 cup slivered almonds (you could toast them lightly, if you’d like)
About 1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt

Directions
Put the scapes, 1/3 cup of the cheese, almonds and half the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor (or use a blender or a mortar and pestle). Chop and blend all the ingredients and then add the remainder of the oil and, if you want, more cheese. If you like the texture, stop; if you’d like it a little thinner, add some more oil. Season with salt. 
If you’re not going to use the pesto immediately, press a piece of plastic against the surface to keep it from oxidizing.