Tools, Tips, and Techniques: Making and Freezing Basil Pesto

I’m sure it won’t be long before that first frosty night is upon us, so now is the time to do something with your basil plants, as that frost will be the end of them.  It's a shame just to let them go to waste, so a quick and easy solution is to make pesto.  This freezes well, and if frozen in small quantities it can be pulled out and put straight into recipes, or defrosted at a moment’s notice.

The only thing I do differently if I know I will be freezing the pesto rather than using it right away, is to first blanche the basil very quickly in boiling water.  This is an optional step, but it does help to preserve the beautiful green color and the fresh flavor, and it only takes a few minutes extra.

I like to freeze the pesto in ice cube trays and then transfer it to a larger container or freezer bag, that way I can pull out one or more cubes whenever I need them.  The pesto can be kept in the freezer this way for 6-8 months.

Of course we think of pesto mostly as being used in pasta dishes, but here are some other ways to use this versatile sauce:

• Use it on its own or mixed with mayonnaise as a spread on a chicken, salmon, or roasted-vegetable sandwich
• Stir it into vegetable soup to add an Italian flair
• Thin with water and vinegar for a salad dressing
• Mix with mayonnaise and/or sour cream to make a dip for vegetables or chips
• Stir into mashed potatoes or rice  
• If you are a baker, add to bread dough, biscuits, savory muffins and cornbread

Pesto is traditionally made with Parmesan cheese, but it freezes better without it.  You may not even notice it’s missing, but you can always add a bit of grated Parmesan after the pesto has thawed, or if you are adding the pesto to pasta, it’s easy enough to add some grated cheese at the same time.

When using nuts in a recipe, it is always good to toast them first (unless they are going to be in a baked topping).  This really brings out their "nuttiness."  You can sometimes find pine nuts that have already been toasted, which will save you a step.  If not, they can either be toasted in the oven or on the stove top. 

To toast them in the oven, preheat the oven to 350 deg F and spread the nuts out evenly on a rimmed baking sheet;  Toast them until they are golden and fragrant, tossing once.  Check every couple of minutes after the first five, as they will easily burn. 

 If you do not wish to turn on the oven, put the nuts in a dry skillet and cook over a medium heat until they are golden brown, stirring frequently.  Again, one minute the nuts are still pale, and the next they can be burnt, so don’t walk away from the stove if using this method.

Let the nuts cool completely before adding to the pesto.

Here’s how to make the pesto (recipe courtesy of Everyday Food)

Basil Pesto (makes about 1 ½ cups)

Ingredients:

8 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves (4 ounces)
1 cup toasted pine nuts (see instructions above for how to toast them)

2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Bring 4 cups salted water to a boil; add basil, and submerge with a spoon. Immediately drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water until cool, then pat basil completely dry in paper towels.

In a food processor, combine nuts, basil, and garlic; season generously with salt and pepper. Process until nuts are finely chopped.

With machine running, pour oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth.

To freeze, spoon pesto into an ice-cube tray (2 tablespoons per cube). Alternatively, place pesto in a piping bag (or Ziploc bag with corner snipped off) and pipe equal amounts into ice-cube trays. 

Cover with plastic wrap, freeze for a few hours or overnight, then transfer cubes to a container or resealable plastic bag. 

Defrost pesto at room temperature, about 20 minutes (or at 30-second intervals in the microwave). Mash with a fork before using in recipes. If adding to pasta or soup, cubes may be added while still frozen and just stirred in until thawed. 

Tools, Tips, and Techniques: Immersion Blenders

One of my favorite electrical appliances in the kitchen is my immersion blender (sometimes called a stick blender).  I was reminded yesterday just how useful mine is when I was making broccoli cheese soup.  I know, who'd have thought I'd be making soup in Sacramento in June!

Pureed soups are so great as the vegetables act as a thickener when pureed, so it's easy to make a hearty soup that is still very healthy.  Without an immersion blender the mixture needs to be transferred to a food processor or blender which can be a hazard in itself as it is usually piping hot.  Although a food processor will do a pretty good job at pureeing the soup, a blender will give the smoothest result, but again care must be taken when operating this with hot liquid. 

With an immersion blender the soup can be pureed right in the saucepan, which is safer, faster, and also saves on the dirty dishes.  One note of caution:  If you are not using a cordless immersion blender, be sure to turn off the burner before starting to blend so that you don't burn through the electrical cord by mistake!

Another advantage of the immersion blender is that you can puree the soup to your desired consistency. You can leave it a little chunky, or puree it until smooth.  If you like to have some pieces of vegetable left in your soup, you can also remove some with a slotted spoon before pureeing, then add them back to the soup later.

The blender also works great for getting lumps out of sauces (that's what I remember my mother using hers for the most!), smoothies and milkshakes, and mixing pancake and waffle batters.  What do you use yours for?

Cleanup is a breeze too.  Just run the blade under hot water or wash with a soapy brush or sponge.  In some models, the blades detach from the motor and are dishwasher safe.

Prices vary for immersion blenders.  On Amazon.com they start as low as $15 and go all the way up to over $500 for a commercial model.  The more expensive models tend to have more powerful motors which result in a smoother soup or batter, and they often have multiple speeds as well as additional attachments such as whisks and choppers.

Mine is a mid- to low-end model by Braun.  It has one speed and it came just with a plastic beaker for mixing drinks.  I also have a blender, food processor, stand mixer and hand mixer, so I don't really need any other attachments!  The blade does not detach from the motor on mine - it's just one piece - nothing to lose!  I use mine mostly for pureeing soups, and it suits me just fine.

This one by Cuisinart on Amazon.com is very reasonable at $28 and has excellent customer reviews, but there are many others offering different features and at varying prices.

Tools, Tips, and Techniques: Crystallized Honey

Have you ever taken your honey out of the cupboard only to find it has crystallized into a solid block?  Take off the lid and pop it in the microwave for a few seconds on high and it will turn liquid again. 

How many seconds will depend on how much honey is in the container and the power of your microwave.  Start with ten seconds, give it a little shake and continue with ten second increments until enough has turned liquid for your use.  The honey will eventually crystallize again, but you can just repeat the procedure next time you need it.  Even if the honey hasn't crystallized, I often do this when I just need a tablespoon or two for a recipe.  It is much easier to pour out of the jar when it is warm. 

Tools, Tips, and Techniques: Home-Made Breadcrumbs

Don’t throw away those last couple of pieces of stale bread.  Tear them up a little and throw them in the food processor.  Process as coarse or fine as you like and freeze them in a zip-loc bag or freezer container.  Label with the date and the kind of bread (the kind of bread is only really important if it’s flavored such as potato rosemary or garlic). 

Use these whenever a recipe calls for breadcrumbs – so much better than the dried, store-bought variety.  The great thing about frozen breadcrumbs is that they never freeze very solid.  It’s easy to crumble off how many you need and then put the rest back in the freezer.

Tools, Tips, and Techniques: Freezing Eggs

Ever have egg yolks or whites leftover and don’t know what to do with them?  They can both be frozen and used later in recipes.  I often pull out egg whites from the freezer and add them to whole eggs for omelettes, scrambled eggs, etc., making the dish a little lighter. 

Egg whites can be frozen just as they are – just put in a small Tupperware or Zip-Loc bag and label with the date and how many egg whites (very important!).  Freeze them in small quantities, so you can pull out just how many you need. 

Egg yolks need to be beaten before they are frozen, and have a little sugar or salt added to help preserve them.  Add ¼ teaspoon of salt per half cup of egg yolks (about 7 yolks), or 1½ teaspoons of sugar.  Label the egg yolks with the sugar or salt content, so you can adjust the recipe as necessary. 

Whole eggs can be frozen, but should also be beaten first. Whole cooked eggs and cooked egg whites do not freeze well – they get kind of rubbery.  Cooked egg yolks freeze just fine.  Eggs can be kept in the freezer for up to one year – thaw in the fridge where possible, or in cold water if you are going to use them right away. 

Tools, Tips, and Techniques: Buttermilk



Cultured buttermilk - a handy baking
aid to have in your refrigerator



I expect many of you that are bakers make recipes that call for buttermilk, e.g., biscuits, bread, cornbread, etc.


Usually these recipes call for half or maybe a cup of buttermilk, then a month later we pour the remaining three cups down the sink because it got buried in the back of the refrigerator and forgotten about. I’m sure you can relate.


Well did you know that you can buy powdered buttermilk at the grocery store? It’s actually called Cultured Buttermilk Blend.  It comes in a round canister and can be found in the baking products aisle.


Each canister is equivalent to 3.75 quarts of buttermilk and should be refrigerated once it is opened. I can’t quite make out the sell by or use-by date on mine, but I keep it for months in my refrigerator and it seems to do just fine!


It’s very easy to use also and the directions are on the container. Basically if the recipe calls for one cup of buttermilk, you use one cup of water and four tablespoons of Cultured Buttermilk Blend. Rather than mixing the powder with the water, the powder is added to the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, etc.) in your recipe, and the water is added to the wet (eggs, melted butter, etc.)


It’s very handy for those times when you suddenly get the urge to bake but don’t have any buttermilk in the fridge. Pick some up next time you are at the store.