Friday, August 12, 2011

Ice Cube Tray Pesto

Come late summer and early autumn I make pesto.
I do not, however, add the cheese or butter.
 Because I always make freeze it; pouring the deliciousness
into ice cube trays and once frozen popping the green delights out
and storing in one big freezer bag for consumption
throughout the year!

Photo by Bruce Barone.


2 cups tightly packed basil leaves
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine before being added to the processor
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
3 tablespoons butter, softened
 Blend all ingredients except cheese and butter until relatively smooth. Fold in cheese by hand to give that chunky, rustic texture. Fold in softened butter, incorporating it evenly into the pesto.
If freezing, do not add cheese and butter; add to thawed pesto just before serving. Top with a thin layer of olive oil, which will help keep pesto green.
~Based on a recipe from Marcella Hazan

7 comments:

  1. Great tip on omitting the cheese/butter. I've been wanting to do this (freeze in ice cube trays) for a while now.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oooooh, yum. I've got basil in olive oil from my ice cube trays last year and NO IDEA where they are in there! ACK.

    ReplyDelete
  3. yum yum yum...

    thanks for sharing this...

    JJRod'z

    ReplyDelete
  4. just discovered this lucullian blog! and by the way, I adore pesto!:-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I do this every year, and it's just about that time again here! Your recipes look seriously delicious. And Your Blog Is Lovely!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. yum- I'll give it a try- I've been freezing it with cheese and butter and just freeze in a zip lock- a thin layer so I can stack them.

    ReplyDelete