Homemade Chive & Basil Pesto Recipe

I made (6) 8 oz. jars of chive and basil pesto today.  It took (4) batches to perfect the recipe.  I think I got it down.  Please try it with any combination of fresh herbs you have.

The herb garden got weeded today and was looking pretty good -- except for the chive. It was gangly and in need of a trim. There are (5) chive plants in the garden, so after trimming I wound up with a LOT of chive! My original plan was to dry and bottle it, but in referencing The Old Farmer's Almanac, my source for all things gardening in New England, I was informed that dry chives are NOT tasty, losing most of their flavor in the drying process. Seemed like a waste of energy. Needed a plan "B". Plan "B" was pesto.

Chive pesto is a thing, I looked it up. At the same time, it dawned on me that there was also a bit of basil out there, too. I cut the basil and went on to prepare each herb. The chive was picked over and submerged into a sink full of salty water to remove dirt and maybe a hidden bug or two (I did not see any, but one cannot be too careful!). Once the chive was clean, I chopped it into 3 inch pieces, spun it in the salad spinner and then patted it dry with some paper towels. The basil was de-stemmed, leaves rinsed in salty water, spun and patted dry in the same fashion. I ended up with 14 cups of chive and 7 cups of basil. Looks like our chive to basil ratio will be 2:1.

The uncleaned basil looks bulky, but the final ratio was 2:1, chive to basil.  Gonna use it all!

Now that the herbs are prepared, I am on to the parmesan. I took (3) half-pound blocks of best-quality parmesan, removed the rind, cut it into 1" chunks, and pulsed in the food processor until finely grated. Time to make some pesto. I did it in small batches, because 21 cups of herbs won't fit in the processor bowl, and also I wanted to fine-tune the recipe. I ended up with (6) 8 oz. jars of fresh and delicious pesto. I gave one away, am using at least part of one tonight, and will freeze the rest. Here is the perfected recipe. (NOTE: you can use chive, basil and parsley, too, or the recipe works for just basil or chive or even only parsley. Just use 3 cups of herbs total).

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups fresh chive, washed and dried, packed tight
• 1 cup fresh basil, washed and dried, packed tight
• 2/3 cups of nuts - pine nuts, walnuts or pecans (I used pecans because I had some)
• 1 large or two small cloves of fresh garlic
• 2/3 cups fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 2/3 cups extra virgin olive oil
• up to 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

In a food processor, add garlic, nuts, chive and basil. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Scrape the sides of the bowl down, replace the lid and while processing, slowly drizzle in most of the olive oil, reserving a small amount for later. The pesto should move fluidly in the bowl. Remove the lid, scrape down the sides again (if needed) and add the parmesan cheese. Replace lid, pulse, and slowly add more of the reserved oil until you get a nice consistency (see photo below). Check the taste. If needed, add salt and pepper judiciously. Pulse again and taste. It should be perfect!

Yields (2) 8 oz. jars of pesto.

Smooth in texture, NOT oily and totally delicious chive and basil pesto!  Read below for how to perfectly dress your pasta.  I prefer hard (dried) pasta -- linguine, fettuccine or penne are my favorites.  Use what you like.  Also delicious on swordfish, chicken, pizza and more!

TO USE: 4 oz. of pesto should dress one pound of cooked pasta. Add the pesto to a large bowl, add the cooked pasta plus 1/2 cup of the salted pasta cooking water initially, more as needed. Add some parm and cracked black pepper to taste. The pasta should not be sticky, it should be fluid (I keep using that word!). Toss well and serve with more grated parmesan. DO NOT COOK THE PESTO!

TO STORE: Put in 4 oz. jars filled to the top. If you have unused pesto, cover the surface with plastic wrap before re-sealing the jar or pour a thin coating of olive oil over the surface to protect it from from oxidation. Pesto also freezes well, either in jars, plastic containers or in ice cube trays. If you use the ice cube tray method, remove the pesto cubes from the trays once frozen and put in a sealed plastic bag.