Along with the sun, heat, and many days spent enjoying the outdoors, I love summer for the fresh flavours and meals it inspires! Sweet corn on the cob, stone fruit and berries, and fresh basil are only some of the flavours I can’t wait to enjoy during the sunny season.
Every summer, my family dedicates one entire garden plot to grow a HUGE amount of basil. Although I love adding it to pasta, pizza, and soups throughout the summer, the main reason we plant so much is to enjoy fresh pesto sauce throughout the fall, winter, and following spring seasons!
By blanching and freezing the basil we harvest, we can keep it fresh and ready to be thrown into recipes throughout the year. The steps below share just how to do that!
- While bringing a pot of water to boil, clean your basil by letting it sit in a large bowl or sink full of water. This cleaning method helps to prevent the basil from being handled too roughly, as the herb is delicate and quick to brown when damaged.
- Once the water is boiled and the basil is cleaned, transfer basil to a colander to drain. Then, transfer your basil to the boiling water. Let it cook for only about 45 seconds to 1 minute, until it is slightly wilted.
- Then, using a mesh strainer or slotted spoon, immediately transfer basil to a bowl or sink of clean cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Lay out your blanched basil on a cloth surface to absorb some of the water. The basil shouldn’t be completely dried though!
- Tightly pack the basil into a 1/2 cup measure and individually wrap each bundle in saran wrap, reusable food wrap or reusable baggies to freeze.
You’ll notice that the pesto recipe below calls for blanched, rather than raw basil. This step is to preserve the bright green colour of the herb, preventing the sauce from turning into a muddier, less vibrant shade of green. Blanching prevents the browning of fruits and vegetables by stopping the activity of polyphenol oxidase, the enzyme responsible for catalyzing the process of enzymatic browning!
Made with lots of fresh basil, garlic, a pinch of salt, vegan parmesan cheese, and a generous amount of olive oil, this vegan pesto sauce is bright, flavourful, rich, and vibrant in colour. The recipe is adapted from my mom’s classic pesto sauce recipe, the one that my family has enjoyed for as long as I can remember. With easy swap outs of animal products for plant-based alternatives, this vegan recipe makes an eerily comparable version that my tastebuds recognize as the original!
Simple Vegan Pesto Sauce Recipe
Yields just over 1/2 cup of sauce.
Ingredients
1/2 cup blanched basil
1/2 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, blanched
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegan parmesan cheese (This recipe was created using Earth Island Grated Parmesan Cheese and hasn’t been tested using other brands of cheese or DIY vegan parmesan recipes)
2 Tbsp vegan butter
Method
- Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add 1 whole clove of garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Remove and immediately transfer to a bowl of cold water.
- Blend together the basil, olive oil, blanched garlic, and salt until smooth. Transfer into a bowl.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese.
- Place the vegan butter on top of the sauce and let sit at room temperature until it melts and can be stirred into the sauce.
- Be sure to reserve about 1 cup of pasta water before draining your cooked pasta. If your sauce is too thick, add 1 Tbsp of reserved pasta water at a time until a creamy consistency is reached.
Recipe Notes:
- Blanching the garlic lends a more mild garlic flavour to the sauce by cutting the very strong, sharp taste that raw garlic can sometimes give. It is not a necessary step if you enjoy or prefer the taste of raw garlic.
- Depending on how much pasta you cook, not all of the sauce may be used. Leftover sauce can be stored in the freezer and defrosted at a later time.
I hope you try out this recipe and enjoy!
alessia eats 