Basil Pesto
One of the most important herbs in my kitchen, and certainly my personal favourite is fresh sweet basil. Although one cannot imagine Italian cooking without basil, it is less known for many that basil originated in India, and was taken to Italy via the spice route during ancient times.
If you thought it is used only in pizza or pasta, then you would be surprised by the many ways you could use it in your kitchen. Just the aroma of the basil in the kitchen sitting on the window sill is so inviting.
Basil is a half hardy annual plant and is a well known culinary herb widely used in the Italian cuisine. Basil originates from India, but today it is cultivated and in culinary use all over the world. Basil have many varieties - holy, sweet, Thai and lemon basil to name a few.
Holy basil or as we call it Tulasi in India is cultivated for religious and medicinal purposes. It is widely known across India as a medicinal plant, commonly used in Ayurveda. It has an important role in Hinduism, in which devotees perform worship involving holy basil plants or leaves.
Thai basil has small, narrow leaves, purple stems, and pink-purple flowers. Widely used in Thai cooking, they taste spicy, peppery and clove like which perfectly goes well in Thai food.
Lemon basil has undertones of lemon in both scent and taste. It is a popular herb in Arabic, Indonesian, Lao and Persian cuisine.
The most popular of all these varieties is the sweet basil without which no Italian dish is complete. Now let's check the recipe for basil pesto
What you'll need:
2 large bunches basil, washed, leaves removed
½ cup pine nuts (or cashewnuts)
60g (about 1 cup) finely grated parmesan
75mL extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
Salt as needed (cheese and salted nuts already have salt)
How to:
Place the basil leaves, pine nuts, cashews, Parmesan, olive oil and garlic in a food processor and process until combined.
Place dip in a bowl and serve with bread or for a cold pasta salad.
