[gardeners] Re: Harvesting herbs
Bob Kirk (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 13 Oct 1999 22:06:15 -0500 (CDT)
> From: George Shirley <gshirley@laol.net>
>
> Yesterday I picked two 10-quart buckets of basil leaves and then
> discarded the old plants to the compost heap. Washed and dried the
> leaves and then made pesto. We like the old recipe out of the Betty
> Crocker cookbook. Two cups of tightly packed basil leaves, 3/4 cup olive
> oil, 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese....
Ever tried it without the parmesan? Like salt added in cooking, much
of this seems simply to disappear, so you might find you get a lot more
flavor for the same amount of cheese - or the same for considerably less,
& as you're no doubt aware dry cheese is pretty intense stuff - by simply
adding it at the table.
> We like the pesto cold on pasta or on a freshly baked pizza dough.
>
There the difference might be a little bit noticeable, as it is if
you're in the habit of standing in the refrigerator door eating shaved
slices of frozen pesto right off the knife....
Amen to the walnuts, though. IMHO pine nuts are something nobody would
ever eat unless they were too poor or deprived (e.g. Italian peasants, SW
Native Americans) to get anything better.