The Basil plant needed some attention this morning, so I spent 15 minutes pruning back the flowers, so the plants don’t go to seed. We want them to stay thick and beautiful into Fall, providing us with flavorful leaves. Besides making Italian food Italian-ny, Basil is loaded with polyphenols that improve the immune system and enhance gut health.
Basil also helps with inflammation and is a potent antioxidant that removes free radicals from your bloodstream. It improves skin health, supports liver function, as well as helps with insulin resistance; it’s a super-food. And besides that, it’s the primary ingredient in Pesto and we love pesto.
Pesto got it’s name from the way it was prepared in the old country; pesta’ (verb), to pound or crush. Usually with a mortar and pestle. Now-a-days it’s a lot simpler. Just throw everything in the food processor and give it a whirl and wha-la, out comes the most exquisite green sauce. Basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, salt and pepper.
“Life is a Combination of Magic and Pasta.” ~ Federico Fellini
Parmigiano-Reggiano is usually included too but we don’t add that in until we’re ready to create something with it. Like Chicken Pesto Pizza, Fusili with Pesto or Pesto Bread. We like to make it ahead and let all the powerful flavors dance and play with each other for awhile.
It’ll be Pinon nut season soon here in Colorado and hopefully we can get away and forage for a few of the local nuts. It’s possible to make pesto with cashews if you don’t have pine nuts and to be honest it probably tastes just as good but we prefer the pine nuts when we can get them.
The Romans were probably the first to come up with the idea of crushing garlic, salt, cheese and herbs together and mixing them with olive oil to create this incredible condiment. It was much more recently that Basil was introduced as the primary ingredient; somewhere around the mid nineteenth century in Genoa, Italy.
Basil has been used for more than 4000 years and throughout history has had the reputation of almost magical powers. It’s frequently referred to, as the “King of Herbs.” It probably made it to Europe in the 16th century, where many doctors of the time thought it was poisonous, while others believed it was good for clearing the brain and cheering the spirit. I’m with the latter group. So simple to make but beautiful to behold.