Besto pesto

Invest in a husband with green fingers for a lovely, fruitful marriage tinged with basil.

It’s lovely to have a basil plant growing happily in the yard. English basil is such a beautiful smelling herb. Just brushing against it releases the lovely aromatic oils, and it scents the porch magnificently.

It is also such a great herb to have. It’s so versatile. It can be used to empower a basic chicken soup; it can be stir fried with beef and dried chilli; toss it with some clams and Tabasco… the list goes on.

However, basil’s most famous use is pesto.

Here’s my favourite recipe for it, courtesy of The Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver.
Ingredients:
• ½ a clove of garlic, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 good handfuls of fresh basil, leaves picked and chopped
• A handful of pine nuts, very lightly toasted
• A good handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil
• A small squeeze of lemon juice
Method:

1.      Pound the garlic with a little pinch of salt and the basil leaves in a pestle and mortar, or pulse in a food processor.

2.      Add the pine nuts to the mixture and pound again.

3.      Turn out into a bowl and add half the Parmesan.

4.      Stir gently and add olive oil – you need just enough to bind the sauce and get it to an oozy consistency.

5.      Season to taste, then add most of the remaining cheese.

6.      Pour in some more oil and taste again. Keep adding a bit more cheese or oil until you are happy with the taste and consistency.

7.      You may like to add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end to give it a little twang, but it’s not essential.