A couple of months ago, I peeked out the back window into our backyard herb garden and eyed the basil, which had practically grown into a bush overnight and showed no sign of slowing down. There was only one sensible reaction to such a predicament: Make pesto!
So I put together a quick vegan pesto in the food processor made up of a boatload of basil, several cloves of garlic, some salt and pepper, some olive oil, a good amount of pine nuts, and a little nutritional yeast for fun. I pureed everything together, then placed the pesto by the spoonful into an ice-cube tray, which then went into the freezer to firm up before I transferred the now-frozen pesto cubes to a zip-top bag for storage.
My mind hasn’t strayed much from that pesto in the two months between then and now. The idea of those cubes are always in the back of my brain, reminding me of their presence. So tonight, I could take it no longer. Tonight, we enjoyed pesto with rotini pasta.
As the pasta boiled, I prepped the pesto cubes by putting about seven of them – about half the tray – into a pan to heat. Once they began to defrost, I added a container of yellow cherry tomatoes and stirred everything together to coat well.
Once the rotini was ready, I drained the pot and poured the pasta into the pan with the pesto and tomatoes, and then tossed the pasta to coat it until it had taken on a lovely basil-like hue. After that, it was time to eat!
I am SUCH a fan of this pesto recipe, and tonight’s meal was no different. We loved the garlicky flavor, which fused perfectly with a zesty olive oil and lots of warm, welcoming basil. And the bite of the rotini made it the perfect pesto delivery vehicle! The sauce got into all the pasta’s nooks and crannies, and the final result was simply grand. I’m surprised we have enough for leftovers tomorrow! But we do, and we’ll certainly enjoy them.
:)