meansoybean

Last year I got a small basil plant from my CSA that I let flower and go to seed. This Spring I started about 40 seedlings with the hopes of eating pesto all summer long. Too bad this growing season has been a bust. Rainy weather and too little sun made for cooler temps, throwing my basil container garden off balance.

But this mid-August week we’ve been granted nothing but sun and hot, humid weather. It’s just too hot to go all-out in the kitchen, so pesto is my summer staple for days like these. Thankfully, my CSA recently had basil in bulk so I took a generous handful and, supplemented by some basil from my mom’s balcony (which gets full sun), I set out to make a batch sans recette.

Ad hoc basil & sun-dried tomato pesto

For every cup of basil leaves you’ll need about one quarter cup of re-hydrated sun-dried tomatoes and about 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts. Place these in a food processor. As the blades are working them through, add olive oil until smooth, or to your liking. Don’t forget to add salt and pepper to taste. Toss well with some cooked pasta and enjoy with a nice salad.
Since there are no set measurements in this recipe, feel free to tweak.

Just make sure to put away any leftover pesto in a sealed container. Leave it in the fridge and consume within several days, or freeze it for lazy day when all you can muster is boiling water for pasta.