Hi all! Hard to believe that we’re already about half way through summer! My garden is in full bloom and my plants are growing like crazy in the summer sun. I have a bunch of flowers and a few vegetable plants, and lots of herbs. My basil plant has started to go to seed, so I had to prune it back to keep it producing basil leaves. I ended up with a whole bunch of basil flower cuttings, and wondered if they were usable as more than just a pretty centerpiece. Turns out, they are!

Usually the flowers of herbs/vegetables have a milder taste than the adult version of the plant, but still have a yummy hint of the traditional flavor. I decided to try making a pesto out of the basil flowers, and it worked amazingly well! But don’t worry, if you don’t have basil flowers, you can just use basil leaves and will have a wonderful traditional pesto. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 cup pine nuts
• 3 1/2 cups basil flowers (off the stem)
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

First, toast the pine nuts by placing them on a paper-lined baking sheet in a single layer and roasting them in a 350° oven for 5-8 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and smelling good.

Add the pine nuts, garlic, basil, and salt to a food processor.

Pulse them in the processor until they become well chopped and mixed. Then, turn the processor to low and pour in olive oil and Parmesan cheese while the processor is running. Continue to process until all ingredients are mixed.

And now, eat it! This recipe goes well with a lot of things- bruschetta, flatbreads, pasta, pizza… the list goes on! I used it to make a pesto pasta and loved it.

To make the pasta recipe, cook 12 oz pasta of your choosing according to the box instructions. While the pasta cooks, sautée 1/2 chopped onion in 2 tbsp olive oil until onions are soft. Mix in 2 tbsp pesto and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook until heated through. Stir in the pasta and top with Parmesan cheese. I sprinkled some extra basil flowers on the top as a garnish!

I hope you enjoy this summer recipe! Happy cooking!