In my kitchen, I always make the pesto with basil, and perhaps a little parsley if I have it on hand. Often pesto recipes call for a mix of basil and parsley, as the basil has a sharper flavor...but I like it!
I began by toasting some nuts. Normally I use pine nuts, but I only had hazelnuts at home this time. I put them in a pan over medium-high heat, and let them start to get fragrant. Then I tossed them in the pan for a minute or so, until the skins began to darken.
Toasted hazelnuts, with their skins.
After they were toasted, I rubbed them in a paper towel to help remove the skins, and put about a handful of the toasted hazelnuts in my food processor. I added the leaves from my large handful of basil, about a two-inch chunk of fresh parmigiano-reggiano cheese, and some olive oil. I blitzed it for a minute or so.
Blitz de pesto!
At this point, I also put two garlic scapes in the oven at 350 to roast a bit. After about 15 minutes, they were soft and fragrant. I cut off the tender, curled ends, and tossed those soft, garlicky stems into the processor as well, with some additional basil leaves from the potted basil plant from the first week. [Side note: I am VERY proud of myself for keeping all three potted plants alive!]
Garlic scapes, basil and goodness.
I continued to pour a slow stream of oil into the processor until the pesto reached the right consistency, almost creamy and smooth, with small chunks of basil. It looked beautiful! At this point, I put on some water to boil for some store-bought cheese ravioli. When it was done cooking and drained, I put a few dollops of pesto into the pan and swirled it around. I put the leftover pesto in a little pyrex dish I have with a lid, and poured a little extra oil over it to keep it from drying out or oxidizing too much and turning black (it still tastes the same, but it is not very pretty!). I plated my ravioli and pesto and put a few shavings of parm on top...yum!
Mmm...ravioli, parm and pesto!
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