Father’s Day “Green Spaghetti” Recipe

Nothing says summer like fresh basil growing in the garden.  And, it’s usually around Father’s Day that we make our first batch of basil pesto.  When our now 19-year-old son was 2 years old, my husband made pesto for dinner, and we gave our son plain pasta, thinking he wouldn’t like it.  When he saw what we were eating, he asked if he could have some “green spaghetti, too!”  We have to wonder if Dr. Seuss and green eggs might have somehow piqued his curiosity for green food.  Since that day, we’ve called basil pesto with pasta “green spaghetti.”

So, in honor of Father’s Day, John has agreed to share his wonderful recipe.

First, a few hints from me:

• Grow your own basil in the garden or in pots.
• I like to use pots because it’s easier to move around to sunny spots, and to control the pests (Japanese Beetles ate ALL of my basil last year).
• I prefer Sweet Basil, which has giant green leaves, and great flavor.
• Try to harvest your basil before it goes to seed.  I think the leaves get bitter, but no one seems to really notice it but me.
• I have not figured out a good way to freeze or store pesto longer term, so if any of you have good ideas, please pass it along.
• We love pesto on pasta, but have used it as a spread on sandwiches, in layered dips with roasted peppers, olive tapenade, and goat cheese.
• I’ve heard that some people like to “cut” the pesto with spinach or parsley, but we’re purists.  If you don’t like basil that much, then this is not the recipe for you.

John’s ‘Green Spaghetti’ Basil Pesto Recipe

Ingredients:
6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 tsp. salt

4 T. pine nuts

1 stick of butter, softened

About 4 cups of basil leaves (no stems), which weighs in at around 4.5 ounces; washed and spun dry in a salad spinner (its important that the leaves are freshly picked and dry)

1 c. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (the real thing, not the Kraft stuff in a green container)

4 T. freshly grated Romano

1 ¼ c. extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

In a good blender (preferably a Vitamix if you’re lucky enough to own one … we’re not), place the garlic, salt, pine nuts, butter, and blend well until it looks like mayonnaise.

Next, add about 1/3 of the basil leaves, about 1/3 of the olive oil, and blend well.

Add another third of the basil and olive oil, and blend again.

Repeat until you’ve used up all the leaves and oil.

Finally, add the cheeses and blend.

The consistency of the pesto should blend well and create a vortex.  If it’s too thick, add some more olive oil.  If it seems too thin, it’s probably okay, but you can add some more grated cheese to thicken it up.

***Always place the lid on the blender when you’re starting or stopping it, because the mixture burps and splatters.  Oh, and in between blends, use a scraper to scrape down the yummy green bits that get stuck on the sides.

This recipe will make about 2.5 cups of pesto, and can be tossed with 2 lbs. of pasta, with a little left over for the next day.  Refrigerate leftover pesto.

It also goes exceptionally well with my tomato-onion-feta salad.