All about Basil & Toasted Almond Pesto - how to make it, how to store it.

Now that it's Autumn it's time to make pesto with all the basil, before Winter comes and finishes it off.

I've grown purple basil and green basil, but I tend not to make pesto from the purple variety because I've found it produces a grey coloured pesto which tastes fine but doesn't look very appetising!

I use toasted almonds in my pesto because they taste great and add texture, and because I can obtain them grown locally, & chemical-free.

I use a food processor, which I know to some more discerning mortar & pestle pesto advocates will seem like sacrilege, but it tastes great to me and I just don't enjoy pestling for ages (although I'm quite good at pestering).

So I just throw a couple of handfuls of toasted almonds in the food processor, and whizz them till they're still fairly coarse, so they'll add a nice substantial texture to the pesto. Next I add lots of basil leaves, pulled off a couple of big healthy bunches of basil. The basil flowers are also fine to use. I pour in some good virgin olive oil (the quality of your oil will really make a difference to the final taste), and process into a rough paste. Season with salt and pepper, mixing the seasoning through. I may add more basil leaves if the pesto doesn't seem strong, or green enough, or I may add more oil if it seems too stodgy. Just adust the mix as needed -this is down to personal taste, but bear in mind that the pesto always seems to harden when it's settled, so it's often better to make it a bit more runny at first.

But where's the garlic and the grated parmigiano?
Well, if I'm going to use the pesto within the next 2 weeks, I'll mix in some crushed garlic and very finely grated parmigiano, put the pesto in a glass jar with an extra layer of olive oil over the top to help keep it fresh, and store it in the fridge.

But I most want to use my pesto right in the middle of Winter, when there's no basil in the garden but I want that lovely, warm, sun-kissed, slightly crunchy flavour stirred through my hearty minestrone soup!

So in that case, I get a plastic, sealable, re-usable bag, fill it with the pesto, and flatten it all out so it freezes into a big thin square when I put it in the freezer. Then, whenever I need some pesto for a soup or some toast, I go to the freezer and just break the amount I need off the square. It defrosts very quickly in this small quantity, and then I can stir some freshly squeezed garlic and/or some grated parmigiano into it if I wish.

Why add the garlic and cheese after defrosting, and not while I'm making it intially?
Because I've read that garlic can become bitter, and can lose many of its health benefits when frozen. And because I have some friends I like to share pesto with who don't eat cheese. And its really nice without the parmigiano, anyway.

Getting creative....
I've used this basic technique to experiment with all kinds of pestos, including garlic chive pesto, rocket pesto, spinach pesto (you have to cook the spinach first), and even Coriander Pesto, depending on what's in the garden. I've also added sunflower seeds, which tastes lovely and is very nutritious, or used cashews instead of almonds for a rich, luxurious taste. A little mashed anchovy adds a great lift to coriander pesto.

There's also no end to the various ways you can use pesto: stirred through soups, on toast, on pizzas, stirred through fresh pasta or a rice salad, even placed in the middle of a home-cooked savoury muffin!

I would love to hear your favourite pesto recipe if you have one.