Basil Glut and Pesto

I have several basil plants in the garden, in a full-sun position.  Basil needs a decent amount of feeding - I use an organic liquid fertilizer every week.  Apart from that, a reasonable amount of water and plenty of sunshine, and remember to pick it often to encourage more plentiful and bushy growth.

Tabitha and I picked an enormous mixing bowl full of basil leaves this afternoon - about 10 cups, or 3 cups very firmly packed.  Tabitha likes to pick leaves of basil off the plants and eat them - today she also tried picking some thyme and eating it, which she was less fond of.

I made loads of pesto - it is just the easiest thing in the world.  In fact, I made most of it with Tabitha held on my hip, as she was feeling clingy and cuddly (just before bedtime).

Pesto

In a food processor (or blender or very large mortar and pestle) blend 3 firmly packed cups of basil (washed and dried - my three rinsings turned up four caterpillars and a spider!) with 1 1/4 cups extra virgin olive oil, 6 crushed garlic cloves, a generous teaspoon of salt and about 100g or so of pine nuts.

Once blended, stir in 200g finely grated, best-quality Parmesan cheese.

You can freeze pesto, or else pack it firmly into jars and pour a few millimeters of olive oil over the surface to prevent it oxidizing.

Use a generous amount of pesto with pasta, or to grill chicken or fish, or on homemade pizzas, or add to a zucchini slice, or stir a spoonful into a vegetable soup for 'Soup au Pistou'.

Tabitha, like most toddlers I know, adores pesto.  The Daddy likes me to add finely chopped chili, which is definitely good too.