Saturday Recipe: "Texas Backyard Pesto"

I guess now my track record is that my Saturday Recipes get posted on Sunday. Oh well.

Today I'm posting a stand-by favorite that has a local spin on it. I've grown up here in Texas and have always had anywhere from 3 to 300 pecan trees surrounding my home. Another fixture in my life has been herb gardens, complete with garlic, sweet basil, and dozens of others. This pesto recipe is a product of those years when my family could gather the most of the makings of an entire meal from the corners of our farm just hours before we sat down to eat. With the exception of the parmesan and olive oil, these ingredients have been available in almost every back yard I've ever had. I grow my own basil in pots or flower beds. The Texas pecans replace the pine nuts used in traditional pesto and give it a great local flavor while keeping the necessary nutty taste. Lately the garlic has come from my parents' garden, but it's easy to grow around here too.

15-20 large leaves of basil (I use mostly sweet basil, but a mix of types works well too)
2-3 medium sized cloves of garlic
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup parmesan
several tablespoons of olive oil (the amount varies)

Toast the pecans lightly in either a toaster oven or a dry skillet. Don't over-toast them, just a little will do. Set aside to cool.

One of the keys to making this recipe easy is some kind of food processor, and smaller is better. I have a tiny little super-chopper, like this one, and it works like a champ and makes just enough pesto for a couple of meals for 2. But you can also use a blender.

Wash the basil leaves and pat dry with a paper towel. Put about half of the leaves in the chopper, along with all of the garlic and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Chop on high for several seconds. Then add in the rest of the basil and a couple more tablespoons of olive oil. Chop again for several seconds. Then begin adding the parmesan a little at a time, chopping in between. If the mix gets too dry to chop well, drizzle in more oil a little at a time. You want the mix to be thick enough so that it's not runny or drippy, but you want everything to stick together slightly and chop smoothly.

After the pecans have completely cooled, add them to the chopper and chop for a few seconds more.

Store-bought pestos are often pureed so completely that it is more like a green goo, but I prefer mine a little chunkier. I think it has more personality that way.

There are a million uses for the wonderful stuff you now have in your chopper. You can toss a couple of tablespoons of it with some cooked pasta, spread it on a grill item of your choice such as portabellos, tofu, or chicken (but wait until its almost done or it might scorch), or you can add it to a salad with a red wine vinegar for a wonderful pesto vinaigrette dressing. You can add some to soups, stews, pasta sauces, stuffings, and the list goes on.

If you don't use the whole batch right away, you can store it in two ways. You can put a few tablespoons into a snack-sized baggie, press it sort of flat, and freeze it. It thaws quickly this way when you need to add some to a recipe at the last second. Or, you can get an empty ice cube tray and press into cubes and freeze. Once frozen, put them in a baggie and keep them in the freezer. Those are handy for dropping into sauces and soups. They will be good for several months.

One of my favorite time of year is when the first freeze comes, usually around Halloween. Basil won't tolerate a frost, so I go out and cut down all the basil I have left and begin making pesto until I've used it all. I almost always end up with enough in my freezer to last me until I can get more basil growing the next spring.

Enjoy!