A Very Good Year for Basil

It took us two years to grow basil worth eating.

Our first attempt was a complete disaster. This year, we moved the pots to a sunnier spot by our front door, and the difference was almost ridiculous. The basil grew at an alarming rate, shooting up into something resembling miniature trees, with sturdy stems and enormous green leaves. At some point, it stopped looking like an herb and started looking like a houseplant with ambitions.

My husband, who had been tending to the plants with great affection, finally harvested our first batch the other day. An entire bowl of beautiful, fragrant basil leaves. Considering how badly things had gone the year before, this felt like quite an achievement.

Naturally, we had to make pesto.

His recipe was wonderfully generous with the pine nuts, along with olive oil, two kinds of Italian cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano, neither of which I can ever remember how to pronounce), and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Everything went into the blender, and out came this gorgeous, vividly green pesto.

We first tried it spread over thick slices of baguette, toasted until warm and crisp in the oven. It was ridiculously good. Rich and nutty, with the saltiness of the cheeses and just enough lemon to keep everything bright. That squeeze of lemon was particularly clever. Without it, the whole thing might have been a little too rich. Instead, it tasted so fresh that we kept reaching for another slice.

The following evening, my husband made pasta with the leftover pesto. And somehow, it was even better.

I’ve never been particularly impressed by store-bought basil pesto. There’s often something a little too heavy about it, an overly concentrated, almost artificial-tasting finish that lingers longer than I’d like. But this was entirely different. The basil tasted alive, the olive oil was fragrant, and the combination of pine nuts and two cheeses gave the sauce an incredible savory depth. It was intensely flavorful without feeling heavy.

I don’t think I’ll be looking at jars of pesto quite the same way again.

Anyway, our little basil farm has had a bumper crop this year.

We haven’t even finished enjoying the harvest, and my husband is already talking about growing cilantro next spring.