Freezer Pesto (Harvesting and Preserving Summer Basil)

It has been really cold the last few days. We were at the baseball game on Tuesday and Thursday and it was about 42 degrees out. I figured it was time to harvest the leaves and cut the plants back. I will try to grow the pruned basil plants indoors but I'm not holding my breath.

I really love the taste of fresh basil. There is no really perfect way to preserve the flavor of fresh basil. I use a lot of dried herbs but basil is not one of them. I've tried freezing whole basil leaves but was never really satisfied with the results. The best way I found to preserve the basil flavor is to make it into a pesto but minus the cheese.

I'm using an 11 cup food processor. This batch is sweet basil. I added three cloves of garlic and a handful of toasted pine nuts.

Pulse it a few times and then add a drizzle of olive oil. Pulse some more to combine.

Transfer into freezer containers or ice cube trays. I've done the ice cube method but I find it too messy. Frozen pesto is usually still soft enough that I can spoon out whatever I need. Top the pesto with more olive oil.

I made another batch using Thai basil.

I grew three types of basil (sweet, lemon and Thai) this year. I only grew one of each type because we can never eat the basil fast enough.