This year, I have chosen to keep my garden small. Therefore I have been getting a great deal of my produce from a local Resiliency Garden down the street.
While picking some tomatoes there last week, I noticed this deep purple plant growing with the other produce and herbs. My friend Jeff that was walking with me informed me that this was indeed a type of Basil. I immediately thought he was lying to me, so I took a leaf and smelled it for confirmation – the smell confirmed it was true, and I fell in love.
I am someone who loves deep dark colors and earth tones, so I knew that I needed to make a Dark Opal Basil Pesto recipe to share with you all here.
The taste of the Dark Opal Basil has a bit of a spice to it, so I added some sweet basil to even things out. It goes great with pasta, or as a topping on pizza, and it can freeze well too. You can also swap out the parmesan cheese with vegan parmesan and use the same ingredient ratios.
A great way to enjoy fresh basil.
Ingredients:
1c dark opal basil
1c sweet basil
3 tbsp pine nuts or walnuts
1 clove garlic
1/2c olive oil
1/2c parmesan cheese (can substitute with vegan parm too)
Directions:
1. Wash and shake dry your fresh basil.
2. Once dry, basil leaves from the stems
3. Add basil leaves and nuts to a food processor and process until a fine paste begins to form.
4. Slowly add olive oil
5. Lastly, add the cheese. Do this only for a few moments so there is a bit of a process, but the cheese is still prominent. This step will vary depending on the type of parmesan you use as well.
Enjoy!
Annie Rosenberg 