The other morning my mother brought me a huge bag of fresh basil from her garden, which I aimlessly placed next to the huge bag of fresh basil that I had just bought at the grocery store. Since I hate to let anything valuable go to waste, and was also sitting on a big bunch of mint leaves I had recently nicked from the side of a friend’s driveway, I decided it was the perfect time to whip up a batch of my favorite pesto.
I started making this minty pesto a few years ago, as the indispensable partner to a favorite spring vegetable soup. The soup, which is fine on its own, got elevated to “favorite” status due solely to this fresh, garlicky garnish. Try stirring it into your own favorite vegetable soup (about one rounded tablespoon per individual bowl), tossing it with pasta, or spreading it on sandwiches and homemade pizzas. Or just eat it with a spoon.
p.s. Pesto freezes beautifully. For easy retrieval, try spooning it into an ice cube tray, freezing overnight, and then popping out the pesto-cubes and storing them in a freezer storage bag. When you want to use some for your soup, pasta, or whatever, just grab a cube or two.
Basil Mint Pesto
Makes about 1 cup.
Ingredients
- 3 medium cloves garlic
- 1 cup tightly packed basil leaves
- 1 cup tightly packed mint leaves
- 3 ounces about 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup pine nuts
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Chop garlic in food processor.
- Add basil, mint, cheese, pine nuts, olive oil, and salt and process until well combined.