Herb-Packed Pesto
There’s no better way to put your garden herbs to good use than a classic pesto, in our humble opinion. The ingredients may be simple, but the applications are vast—and using fresh basil, parsley and garlic you’ve grown yourself will make the end result way more flavorful than any version you’d get from a store shelf.
Ingredients:
For best results, use the freshest herbs possible—ideally those picked the same day.
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (Genovese Basil is our top pick, but can use Lemon Basil, too.)
- ½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley (Optional, but adds brightness.)
- 2 cloves garlic, freshly peeled
- ⅓ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (Fun fact: You can harvest your own pine nuts from our White Pine. It’s labor-intensive, sure; but satisfying!)
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1–2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp flaky sea salt, to taste
- Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions:
- Remove thick basil stems—these turn bitter—then pound or pulse the basil and parsley leaves. For optimal flavor, use a mortar and pestle, or pulse (don’t blend!) in a food processor. Use restraint; pesto should be textured, not smooth, and over-blending leads to early oxidation, giving your pesto a dull, brownish hue.
- Add garlic, salt, pine nuts and cheese, mixing lightly before drizzling in the olive oil. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste—flavor should be herby, sweet and slightly sharp!
- This will keep 24-48 hours in the fridge. For a little extra sumthin-sumthin, add in tomato—we like to use cherry types.
The Gurney’s Difference: Using just-picked herbs gives you a more flavorful pesto, thanks to peak levels of vitamins and nutrients. For basil, you’ll get the most robust flavor if you pluck leaves after a few days sans rain or watering; a brief “dry spell” allows the natural oils in basil leaves to concentrate.
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