I love basil.  To me, nothing smells more “summery”.  I’m out of pesto in the freezer, so it’s time to make some.

Mine is super simple.  All you need is basil, garlic and extra virgin olive oil.

Everyone, meet Oscar the Food Processor.  He’s old, but he’s my best friend when it comes to making pesto.  And he reminds me of R2D2.

Strip the leaves off the basil stems and, a handful at a time, put them into the processor along with a clove or two of garlic.  Put the lid on and start drizzling the olive oil in while Oscar is chopping (there’s a hole in the lid for that very purpose).  Keep adding basil and garlic, with more oil as necessary (I don’t measure anything, but I probably used 1/8 – 1/4 cup of oil total).

Keep whizzing until it looks like this:

Traditionalists will add pine nuts or walnuts, but I don’t.  It’s just personal taste. I also don’t add Parmesan (or Asiago) cheese before I freeze it.  I add it to the dish I’m using the pesto in.  Hey, make it however you like it.

Scrape it into a small deli container, label it and pop it into the freezer.  I use a bit more oil if I’m going to freeze my pesto, as I don’t want it to freeze solid.  When you’re ready to use some, take the frozen block out of the container, and cut off a hunk as big as you need.  Then put the rest back in the freezer.  I’ve kept pesto for over a year like this, and it works beautifully.

I love the flavor of pesto with chicken, and this is my favorite new recipe:

Pesto Chicken Roll Ups
(Adapted from original recipe from Chef Bonnie Mair of The Hub Cafe)

1/2 package of puff pastry (1 sheet), defrosted
1/2 cup pesto
Fresh baby spinach
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, lightly beaten

Cook chicken in a little bit of oil and season with pepper and garlic powder. Chop into bite sized pieces and set aside. (You can use leftover chicken, too.)

Roll the puff pastry sheet out to about 16″ long and not much wider than it is when it comes out of the package. Spread pesto evenly over the sheet.  (I use a frozen hunk of pesto and grate it on with a microplane grater.  I find I get a nice even layer of pesto that way.) Top with an even layer of baby spinach leaves, the mozzarella, 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese, and the chicken (in whatever order you like). Roll up the pastry sheet like a jelly roll. Place on a cookie sheet, seam side down.

Brush roll with the egg and then sprinkle it with the rest of the Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Make several slits in the top of the roll to vent. Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes until the internal temperature is about 150-160°, then turn up the oven to 450° to brown the top.

Slice into individual servings. For us, one roll makes four servings.

In this one, I added mushrooms.  This recipe is very easy and quite elegant.  If you like pesto, you’ll love these.

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