Some people might like to drown in a vat of cake batter or cookie dough.

When it comes down to it, I think I’d like to drown in a vat of pesto.
I told this to my friend Lauren last year. She agreed with me. Then she started talking about the ice cube method. I do that, right?

Hmm. No. What is that?

Well, it turns out, it’s the best idea ever. It enables fresh pesto eating all year long- for so much less money and so much more flavor and healthfulness than store bought brands. In other words, something I can get behind.

I’ve been waiting a year for basil season to come around again, and now that it’s here, it’s time my friends. I am a huge fan of this ice cube thing.

Of course, I will share it with all of you.

But first, the ingredients. So simple and unassuming. My own version is below, but you can add anything you’d like- garlic and pine nuts for a more traditional twist, cilantro for more of a kick, or using papaya or mango juice instead of cheese if you are dairy free. See my earlier recipe here.

Ingredients:

2 large bunches of basil (farmer’s markets have great deals. Mine were $2.50 each!)

2 lemons

1.5 cups raw walnuts (almonds, cashews or pine nuts also work)

$7 worth of raw parmesean

good quality extra virgin, organic olive oil

 

Directions: Throw all ingredients in a blender- you might need to do a few split batches depending on the size of your blender. Add enough olive oil and some water so the blender can run, but not too much so it gets liquidy. Add a generous amount of sea salt and pepper to taste.

And now, for the ice cube method-

Buy yourself a few silicone ice cube trays. Silicone is much more flexible than traditional ice cube trays, so it’s easier to use for sauces like this. I opted for the small cube version like below. Fill with pesto, cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight:

Once the trays freeze, pop out each pesto cube and into a plastic bag for storage in your freezer. When you’re ready for a pesto punch, pop a cube or two in the pan or oven while you cook your chicken, fish, potatoes, veggies or old world grains in the coming months.

There is nothing this doesn’t taste good on, and with perfectly proportioned sizes, you don’t have to defrost the whole batch. Perfection.

Who else has great tips like this to share?