I thought about titling this post “Pesto and Green Beans: Two Great Tastes That Look Disgusting Together” but that might have put people off. It’s true, though – you take these gorgeous beans (I happened to have a mix of green filet and yellow wax beans – beautiful), cook them until they’re perfect and tender with just a hint of snap, and you mix them with freshly made basil pesto – and it looks terrible. The pesto turns brown and hides the bright color of the bean – but fortunately, it tastes amazing.
Everyone knows how to make pesto now, don’t they? Back when my mother was first making it, it was fresh and different, and a lot people thought of it as sort of foreign and unusual. I knew a guy who refused to eat pesto because it wasn’t “guy food” – like quiche, I guess. Now it’s old hat.
Still, I hadn’t made it myself for a long time (Jon often takes charge of the blenders and choppers), so I was really pleased with how nice this batch came out. We got a big packet of incredibly fragrant basil from Blue Heron Farm, and I zizzed it up with toasted pine nuts, homegrown garlic, olive oil and salt. It seemed particularly good, but maybe that was just me. And we ate on the patio in the growing dusk, so it didn’t matter how ugly the beans were.
This is why we need you as neighbors!! But I will try this, now that I have instructions. R will love it!!
G, I can give you an actual recipe, if you want! I don’t really think pesto needs one, though – just taste your way through it.
I think the real keys to making pesto are the non-basil ingredients. I love basil, but if there isn’t enough olive oil, garlic and salt, the final product is a thick, unappetizing paste. The very first time i ever had pesto was as a child growing up in Missouri. My mother made pesto, and I think the entire family agreed that it was kinda nasty. It got better with the addition of more oil (and if memory serves, bacon).
The real pesto is not with the blender!
Palmariello, I’m sure that’s true. But it still tastes just fine. jt