Last of the summer basil… in mid-autumn – time for basil pesto! I grew up with southern Italian cooking and so came to this dish from the north a bit later on. There are so many variations but I’ve tried to make it as close as I can to the original Ligurian version using basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and Parmigiano Reggiano.
I did serve it with a southern Italian pasta though… orecchiette, from Apulia so the ‘little ears’ can ‘listen’ to the pesto (love how they cup the pesto in their shells).
Addio basilico, until next summer but buon appetito a tutti! Zoe x
(Secret tip: salt helps in crushing it all in the mortar with the pestle but I had to be careful not to oversalt. Oh, and I never cut basil leaves, only tear them, otherwise they go black.)
Amazing how a much longed-for pour of rain a few days ago has brought about a basil forest in the vegie patch! So, it’s all things basil for a bit with this beautiful harvest… homemade pizza with basil, tomato and mozzarella, basil pesto with orecchiette and crispy prosciutto, as well as bruschetta with basil, tomato and balsamic. (Any other ideas for basil are most welcome. As is a little more rain all round for everyone in Australia!) And I have to say that Costa 
Zoë Boccabella 