how to preserve pesto

During thawing, it will start to lose some of its texture. Add the other half of the olive oil and process a few seconds more, until basil is finely minced but not yet liquidy. Freeze for 2-3 hours, and then remove the muffin liners from the pan and freeze each pesto"puck" in an air-tight container. I will definitely be changing my methods. Spoon pesto into mini muffin tins lined with muffin papers/ice cube trays, filling them three-fourths full. Your email address will not be published. Whatever you don’t eat that night can go into the freezer for future pesto enjoyment. Whether you make your own homemade classic pesto, dairy-free/Whole30 pesto, or purchase a jar from the store, even just a bit added to savory dishes can take your food to the next level. How to Freeze Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. Freeze for 2-3 hours, and then remove the muffin liners from the pan and freeze each pesto"puck" in an air-tight container. (Quite the sacrifice, right? Which is great, of course, because we like making and freezing a lot of pesto in the summer so that we can continue to enjoy it during the winter and spring, long after basil has gone out of season. Another winter taste option is celeriac leaves. Learn all the tips and tricks for Freezing Pesto to save money and prevent food waste. A freezer stash of frozen pesto opens the door to amazing meals packed with flavor. I love the idea of using small portions and throwing a bit of pesto into a variety of dishes. (I used this tutorial to learn how to harvest my basil.) (Like Harry Potter? (Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Do not introduce them to your garden, they are very invasive, they grow freestyle in many places. Let me show you how easy it is to preserve this incredible sauce! You’ll love using pesto in Instant Pot Lentil Soup, sheet pan gnocchi, Air Fryer French Bread Pizza, pesto chicken and cauliflower, Instant Pot parmesan garlic rice, or on top of homemade whole wheat pizza dough. If you saw my last garden post, you may have noticed that we’re pretty much swimming in basil here. If you freeze in small quantities, you can use the defrost setting on your microwave. It can be purchased fresh, canned or bottled. You can allow it to defrost at room temperature for 1-2 hours, or overnight in the fridge. Keep a look out for three cornered leeks, they come up over winter, have a good taste and can be used for pesto. Both the email and the "meat". I do recommend that you wash your ice cube trays multiple times after removing the frozen pesto. The Reading Corner: August 21, 2012 | Too Many Jars in My Kitchen. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. These easy steps for making frozen pesto cubes will help you preserve your basil harvest in the months to come. I also love 4 oz mason jars for larger portions. There are two ways to go about freezing pesto, each with different end-uses. Then I froze the two to use on pasta, fish, chicken, and even just good bread whenever the craving strikes. Whenever I am stuck with more fresh herbs than I can manage — be it herbs from my tiny container garden on my balcony or a big bunch from the grocery store — I undoubtedly make pesto. Notify me of replies to my comment via e-mail. You can freeze pesto in larger amounts (1/2 to 1 cup) that can be tossed with pasta for a quick dinner, as well as smaller amounts (1 to 2 tablespoons) that can be added to other dishes for a burst of basil pesto summer flavor when the weather turns less warm and sunny. For longer storage, however, I recommend freezing it in ice cube trays. In a food processor chop basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper for 10 seconds. We hate spam. Check out these.) Don’t be afraid to freeze pesto in jars. Freezing pesto is also super easy. Pesto can be frozen without any changes to them. Learn how your comment data is processed. This will create a barrier layer to prevent it from browning upon defrosting. There isn’t much water content in pesto and so it won’t expand much. Helping you serve up budget-friendly sustainable recipes with a side of balanced living. Add basil, parmesan cheese, and about half of the olive oil to the food processor and process for a few seconds. The primary ingredients used in pesto is basil, which is an herb that freezes well in the freezer too. If you’ve never made pesto, it’s really not difficult. Picking off the leaves from the stems can be a bit time consuming, but it’s pretty mindless so it’s a great thing to do while watching TV or listening to a great podcast. Try to use it up before next summer so that you can make space in the freezer for even more frozen pesto! Drizzle olive oil over each portion of pesto until it creates a thin layer covering the top. The shelf life of pesto depends on a variety of factors such as the best before date, the preparation method and how the pesto is stored. If, like me, you hate cleaning your food processor, I recommend making at least a double batch at once. Once harvested, remove the basil leaves from the stems. Pesto will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. :)) Last weekend we finally got down to it. Using an Ice Cube Tray Scoop your pesto into an ice cube tray using a spoon. Required fields are marked *. It will keep for 6 months in a conventional freezer or 9-12 months in a deep freezer. Fill each cell in the ice … It can also be homemade rather quickly with the help of a food processor or blender. I always freeze my pesto in large jars and then get super bummed when it is gone. I rarely add pine nuts to my pesto, so this is a pesto without pine nuts recipe. The strong garlic flavor in pesto tends to “cling” to plastic ice cube trays. Thanks! Keep the pesto “pucks” in the parchment muffin liners when storing in the freezer to prevent them from sticking to each other. Add garlic cloves to your food processor and process until minced. PESTO SAUCE INGREDIENTS. Harvest basil from your basil plants or buy some at the store or farmers’ market. Bonus: they are stackable in the freezer. Your email address will not be published. If you have a deep freeze/stand-alone freezer, you’re safe to keep it in there for up to a year. Pesto thaws pretty fast. Preserving Pesto. Just last week I made both sage and thyme pesto in order to get a handle on my excess. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the top of the pesto prior to freezing. If you’re cooking a hot meal, you don’t even need to worry about defrosting beforehand—just throw the frozen cubes directly into your hot pan and wait for them to melt. It is a delicious summery treat made when fresh basil can be purchased at any farmer’s market or roadside farm stand. If you want to add pine nuts, then add 1-2 tablespoons pine nuts to this recipe. Yes! Please note, I only ever endorse products that are in alignment with Whole Natural Life’s ideals and I believe would be of value to my readers. But it’s also possible to enjoy it all year long when you have a freezer stash full of frozen pesto. Freeze the trays and then transfer into…