I'm trying to make the most of everything I harvest, okay I admit sometimes at the end of a tiring day making the most of everything simply means the chickens get a tasty extra snack, but 'Hey Ho' ....as John from Going Gently would say ..... at least that means the trimmings get turned into the most delicious eggs for us to eat!!
But the other day I pulled up all the remaining Beetroot plants and the leaves looked so lush I just had to use them. Some were wilted down to have with tea in place of Spinach, and the rest were turned into the contents of the jar you see above.
Hardly a Recipe - Any Leaf Pesto
Equal weights of
Leaves (Basil/Spinach/Beetroot/Radish etc, or a mix)
Parmesan Cheese (or any other hard cheese, or a mix)
Nuts (Pine/Almond/Brazil, or a mix)
Garlic to taste (lots if you like lots not so much if you don't)
Whizz these together in a food processor and then drizzle in enough Olive Oil to get it to the consistency you like.
There I said it was hardly a recipe!!
Put the finished Pesto into a clean jar and keep it in the fridge. Whatever you haven't eaten after a couple of weeks can be spooned into ice cube trays and frozen. Once hard pop out and put into a freezer bag or box. It will keep in the freezer for years, but I doubt it will last long ... it's delicious.
This recipe has also been added to the Recipes I Use Regularly page at the top of the Blog for future reference. Which also contains my recipe for Pesto Pasta Al Forno .... delicious and something I think we will be having this weekend with my lovely new jar of pesto.
While all that was going on the Beetroot was lazily cooking away in the bottom oven of the Aga.
Once soft it was sliced and packed into these jars and I topped them up with some spiced vinegar. Which is simply vinegar that has been brought to the boil and simmered for about 15 minutes with some pickling spices (around 1oz to every bottle of vinegar). I buy mine ready mixed to save having lots of jars of spices I don't use that often.
I always boil up much more than I need and pour the cooled, unused vinegar back into the vinegar bottle for future use ... make sure you add to the label that it has been spiced !!
So Pickled Beetroot and a big jar of Pesto, another days successful harvest processed for future use.
Sue xx
