L'Ecole NO 41, Semillon

[Innkeeper]

Haven't had a lot of pasta since Mother has been on her low carb diet these last few years, so not much pesto either. However, at the end of each growing season we rip out all remaining basil before the first killer frost, and make pesto out it. Use it on things like sauteed chicken breasts, poached white fish, and the afore mentioned scallops. It is the almost traditional pesto out of Paula Wolfert's classic Mediterranean Cooking (circa 1977). She adds cream to finish it, which is the big difference.

PESTO:
2 C Large basil leaves (picked over, cleaned, dried, and tightly packed in two cup measure)
1/2 C Olive oil
1/2 C Italian grating cheese grated
1/4 C Pine nuts
3 Garlic cloves peeled
Salt to taste
3 tbl Heavy Cream

Drop basil into boiling water (we use a steamer) for ten seconds and drain. Reserve 1/2 cup of the basil water. Squeeze leaves gently to remove excess water. Place into blender with olive oil, cheese, nuts, garlic, salt, and water. Blend until smooth. Transfer to sauce pan and gently heat without boiling. Stir in the cream and serve. Keeps in refrigerator for a little while. To freeze, make pesto without cheese, garlic, salt, and cream. Freeze in two one cup servings. To serve add half the amount of omitted ingredients to each thawed cup.