For the Love of Basil (Pesto)

Oh Spring! The buds are giving way to tiny little leaves, the bulbs are shooting up through the dirt and awing us with their magical petals, the birds are returning with their sweet morning songs. There is excitement and joy afoot! And I have been planting seeds. More specifically, I have been planting basil seeds in my atrium, I am expecting a large harvest this year with plenty to store away for winter as food AND medicine.

Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is one of my favorite medicinal culinary herbs. A native plant of India (not to be confused with Holy Basil), it is high in nutrients, just one-half cup of chopped, fresh basil provides 97.7% of our daily recommended intake of vitamin K as well as providing notable quantities of manganese, copper, and vitamins A and C. Vitamin K is essential for bone repair in cases of broken bones or wasting as in osteoporosis as well as bone formation for our kiddos! Basil resides in the prized aromatic category of plants, imparting an uplifting scent that is somewhat sweet with undertones of pepper and mint. Medicinally culinary sweet basil is a powerful antiseptic and is used as a folk remedy for the common cold in the form of tea. In addition, basil is a wonderful topical remedy for insect bites, drawing the poison out quite efficiently.

So how do we prepare this amazing plant for storage through the winter months? Well, tinctures are of course my favorite go-to storage plan, but on the culinary side of things pesto is a time honored and kid approved method of storing and using basil. The creation of pesto also allows the basil to be macerated with some fat (olive oil and nuts) which makes the vitamin K content much more bioavailable. I have discovered a great way to store basil in proper portion size chunks too – ice cube trays! No more struggling with 8 oz containers in the freezer when you only need a quarter of that amount.

There are myriad amazing pesto recipes out there… but here is mine:

Basic Basil Pesto

As I mentioned before, I like storing basil in the form of pesto, so this recipe is large enough to allow for that. If you are looking for a one meal quantity, I would quarter this recipe.

Ingredients

8 cups chopped, fresh basil

2 cups macadamia nuts (or any other nut you may choose)

6 medium cloves garlic

1 ó cups cold pressed, fruity olive oil (drizzle more in as needed to keep the pesto loose)

Squeeze of half a lemon

Sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1.     Set out about 4 ice cube trays. 

2.     Throw all ingredients in a blender or food processor starting with nuts

and garlic and finishing with olive oil and lemon juice (be sure to catch all the seeds from the lemon as they impart a bitter taste). Blend until smooth, depending on your blender this could take up to 5 minutes. If you have a food processor or vita-mix it should blend up in just a minute or two.

3.     Put aside the portion you will be using this week, then pour the remaining mixture into the ice cube trays you have set out. 

4.     Freeze for 48 hours before cracking trays and transferring cubes to a freezer bag for future use. Be sure to date the bag with a sharpie, this will eliminate any confusion if you choose to make multiple batches over the course of the season.

References

www.whfoods.com

Balch, P. (2006). Prescription for Nutritional Healing. New York: Avery

Writer Aubrey (McDonald) Connelly is a Holistic Nutrition Educator, Herbalist, and Medicine Maker at WishGarden Herbs.

For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug

Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, or to sell any product.