No Empty Chairs

October 10, 2009 · 9:43 pm

Basil Pesto

Last month I got a half-bushel of basil from a local farmer’s market. It was fresh picked about an hour before I got there. It smelled divine in the car on the ride home! So what do you do with a half bushel of basil? Make pesto, of course. I love to grow basil at home, but I don’t have a large enough crop to make large quantities of pesto. So I watch this farmer’s market at the end of summer when they cut their large crop of basil and sell it cheap!

Actually, I only made full-blown pesto with about half of the basil. The other half I put into the food processor with olive oil (in the proportion of 1 cup packed basil to ¼ cup olive oil). This basil/olive oil mixture I spooned into ice cube trays and froze. Once frozen, I put the basil ice cubes into a Ziploc bag, then back into the freezer. I use them to season all kinds of dishes throughout the next 3 seasons, until I have basil growing again in my garden. The proportion above is also the same proportion of basil to olive oil in the pesto, so if you just want to freeze the basil/olive oil, then you can add the remaining ingredients later to make fresh pesto.

But I love being able to pull pesto out of the freezer and not worry about whether I have pine nuts ready to be toasted. To make fresh basil pesto, combine 4 cups of packed basil leaves (don’t use the thick, stiff stems; smaller stems may be used), 4 cloves of garlic and ¾ cup toasted pine nuts in a food processor. Blend well. Add 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan, processing just until blended. Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream while food processor is running.

Pour pesto into jars, freezer containers or small Ziploc bags. If you are using jars or plastic freezer containers (like below), drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the top of each container. This will help keep the basil from darkening or becoming freezer-burnt. This container is obviously not full, it is one that I currently have open in my fridge. Pesto makes a great addition to so many things: pasta, pizza, sandwiches, fresh tomato salads, bruschetta.

When thawing pesto from the freezer, DO NOT MICROWAVE! It will melt the Parmesan and leave you with a gloopy mess (trust me on this one). Still tastes good, but looks pretty funky. Let thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or on the countertop for several hours.

RECIPE:

Basil Pesto

¾ cup pine nuts
4 cups fresh basil leaves, firmly packed
4 cloves garlic
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425°F. Toast pine nuts until lightly browned, checking and stirring every 4-5 minutes. Cool.

Using a food processor, blend basil, garlic, and pine nuts. Add Parmesan, processing just until blended. Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream while food processor is running.

Makes about 2 cups

Notes:

Substitute toasted walnuts for the pine nuts.
Low on basil? Substitute fresh spinach for 1-2 cups of the basil
To Freeze: Pour pesto into jars, freezer containers or small Ziploc bags, leaving about ¼” headspace. If using jars or plastic containers, drizzle small amount of additional olive oil over the top of the pesto. Freeze.
Alternate Preparation: Blend basil and olive oil in proportions above. Spoon into ice cube trays or small Ziploc baggies. Freeze. Use to prepare fresh pesto later, or to add to recipes calling for fresh basil.

NoEmptyChairs.me

3 Comments

Filed under Canning/Freezing, Condiments/Sauces

Tagged as basil, freezing, fresh herbs, pesto

October 9, 2009 · 3:14 pm

Grilled Asparagus with Garlic & Lemon Thyme

This is the side dish that accompanied the Grilled Peruvian Chicken Thighs.

Asparagus is great on the grill, just be careful not to overcook it, or to let it fall through the grill slats.

This is a simple recipe for grilling vegetables. In a large Ziploc bag, combine olive oil, garlic, fresh lemon thyme (other good herbs to use: fresh rosemary, oregano, basil, Thai basil, cilantro, sage) and salt & pepper. I leave the garlic cloves whole, but then smash them somewhat while they are in the bag with the olive oil. Add washed and trimmed asparagus. To know where to trim your asparagus: hold a stalk in your hand and start to bend it near the bottom. The asparagus end will snap off at the perfect spot. No more tough ends!

Let asparagus sit in the marinade at room temperature for 30-60 minutes for best flavor. (It can also be cooked right away if you are short on time; the garlic just will not be as infused into the oil).

Remove asparagus from oil and place on a hot grill, turned to low (for gas grills). I like to grill the garlic as well, but I do often lose some through the grates. You could use a grill screen to avoid this. Grill 5-7 minutes, depending on the temperature of your grill. Watch them carefully, turning often.

Grilled Asparagus1 Grilled Asparagus2

This is also great with fresh zucchini. The zucchini in our garden overproduced this year, while our tomatoes were sadly underperforming. But now, the only things left in the garden are the green tomatoes that never ripened. I need to pick those today before I lose them to frost! Maybe some Green Tomato Salsa.

RECIPE:

Grilled Asparagus with Garlic & Lemon Thyme

Servings: 4-6
Print

1 bunch asparagus
2-3 Tbs olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, whole or crushed
2 Tbs fresh lemon thyme (or other fresh herb)
¼ tsp coarse sea salt
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper

Combine asparagus with oil, herb and seasonings in a Ziploc bag. Marinate 30-60 minutes at room temperature for best flavor. Cook 5-7 minutes on a hot grill (turned to low, for gas grills), turning often.

NoEmptyChairs.me

Grilled Peruvian Chicken Thighs

Welcome to No Empty Chairs.

I have been a long time food blog reader, and have finally decided to join the throng! My goal with this blog is to share a little bit of our home (via the family dinner table) with anyone who loves the combination of family, friends and food. So pull up a chair and join me around our family’s table: I want no empty chairs when dinner’s served.

As I prepared to begin this blog journey, I wrestled with where to start. Should my first post be a signature dish? Gourmet fare? A family favorite? In the end, I decided to just begin right where we were: on an ordinary Tuesday evening; with whatever I was planning to cook that night for dinner. Tonight, as the fall weather still has a bit of warmth in it, I decided to uncover the grill, maybe for the last time this season, but I hope not. I still have several grill recipes that I am hoping to try out before winter sets in for good.

So, on the menu tonight is Grilled Peruvian Chicken Thighs. I slightly adapted the recipe from Andrea Meyers, choosing to cook thighs instead of breasts (and altering the seasonings just a little). I love cooking boneless chicken thighs, especially on the grill. They are moist and flavorful, and they are very forgiving to those of us who are constantly being paged by demanding children. “M-o-m!! I need you!” seems to punctuate the air at least every 5 minutes, and twice as often while I am either cooking or talking on the phone. So my grill does not always get the attention it deserves.

I love this recipe for many reasons: mostly because there is so little clean up. Also because it is so versatile in terms of how many it will feed. The amount of marinade is suitable for just a few pieces of chicken, or a large amount. It is also great to freeze. I will usually make up a double batch: one to eat that night, and the other to stick in the freezer for a night I need to be able to just pull something out to cook with minimal preparation.

In a Ziploc bag, combine the chicken thighs with all of the marinade ingredients. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight, if possible, but at least a couple of hours.

If you can remember, take the chicken out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you begin cooking. This will help the chicken cook more evenly on the grill.

Remove chicken from the marinade and place on a hot grill. Go help your daughter with her math homework (hoping you can still remember how to graph a trigonometric function), enlist someone else to set the table, and start your side dishes. Tonight we had grilled asparagus (which I will post next time) and a rice pilaf.

Make your way back outside to turn the chicken over (and start your asparagus, if that is on the menu). Total cooking time for the chicken should be about 15-20 minutes, depending on the temperature of your grill (or if, like me, you have to keep rearranging the chicken to compensate for the hot & cold spots on the grill).

Everyone in our family really enjoys this meal. I love it because it is so simple, and the rest of the family loves it because it is so flavorful and tender.

RECIPE:

Grilled Peruvian Chicken Thighs

Servings: 6-8
Print

1/3 cup soy sauce
Juice & zest from one fresh lime (about 3 Tbs lime juice and ½ tsp zest)
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp dried oregano (or 1-2 Tbs fresh)
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 Tbs olive oil
9-12 boneless chicken thighs
Lime wedges

In a Ziploc bag, combine marinade ingredients. Add chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator 8-24 hours.

Remove chicken from refrigerator 30 minutes before you plan to begin cooking. Preheat grill. Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and place on the hot grill. Cook about 10 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Squeeze lime wedges over chicken and serve.

NoEmptyChairs.me