Yum! Homemade Pesto Bruschetta

May 31st, 2008
Yum! Homemade Pesto Bruschetta

At the end of April, Brian told me about the annual plant sale at the ASU Department of Biology Greenhouse. I had heard about this in the past and couldn’t wait to go so I could get some plants. I wanted a couple of ferns but mostly longed for fresh herb plants for my kitchen window shelf so I could spontaneously add fresh herbs while cooking. When I got there they had so much to choose from that I would have gone way overboard if I hadn’t stop myself from getting one of everything they had. I bought some basil, oregano, spinach, arugula, mesclun lettuce, and tomato plants as well as some ferns. I have from time to time added fresh oregano to spaghetti sauce, mixed in some arugula and mesclun lettuce with my salad and I can’t wait to enjoy some tomatoes from the tomato plants but by far my most favorite creation from the plants I acquired would have to be the pesto bruschetta I made one weekend afternoon.

Since a friend of mine had shared with me some pesto a while ago, I had been wanting to make some of my own. We needed an appetizer before lunch and decided I would try to make some pesto, which was similar to a traditional topping for bruschetta, to go with the last bit of yummy spinach feta bread we had leftover from our local bakery. I searched ”the g**gle” for a pesto recipe and decided to use this one.

I was a little surprised we actually had everything I needed to make it but that is beginning to be more and more common as I experiment more with cooking. To make pesto which looks more like a bruschetta topping, use chopped versions of all the non-liquid ingredients, instead of following the pesto recipe instructions.

  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup Olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped (do about 3/4 cup at a time). Add about 1/3 the nuts and garlic, blend again.
Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese; blend while slowly adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, stopping to scrape down sides of container.
Process basil pesto it forms a thick smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used, mix all batches together well. Serve over pasta. Basil pesto keeps in refrigerator one week, or freeze for a few months.

While technically I may not have made textbook versions of pesto or bruschetta, it sure did taste good.

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