Hazelnut Basil Pesto
Professional chef I am not, but lover of creating delicious meals and beverages made with farm fresh, wholesome ingredients - I certainly am!
When I first started Farm to City, I was more frequently posting the recipes that I’m inspired to create with the amazing ingredients I find at the farmstands and farm stores I’m discovering. But for the past few months, recipe sharing has fallen temporarily by the wayside and I’ve only been posting the beautiful items I find on my adventures in my social feeds without really communicating what I do with them. It’s high time I got back to sharing my culinary adventures!
For me, choosing to actively seek out and purchase the amazing food items we have available to us directly from our incredible local farmers, growers, bakers, and makers is about many things. It’s about:
supporting agriculture that prioritizes soil, land, and animal health and wellbeing
a vote for ethical farming practices
a return to connection (with the land and those who steward it)
uplifting each other and strengthening our local economies
helping protect and preserve local agricultural land
knowing where our food comes from and how it’s produced
gleaning knowledge and enrichment from the stories and experiences behind the food we nourish ourselves with
enjoying the healthiest, most nutritious, and freshest food we have available to us
I could go on and add many more points, but this is just an introductory shortlist. It can also be about the thrill of the hunt (like searching for the perfect ingredients to create a new, or improve on an already-adored recipe) and it’s definitely also about inspiration.
For me, sometimes the inspiration precedes the farmstand visits and I go in search of a specific ingredient. And sometimes (most often, actually) I find something or a few things in my travels that inspire my next recipe.
An example of the former being a lavender lemonade mocktail (the subject of my very first Farm to City BC blog) that Mr. Farm to City ordered for me last year on my birthday at one of our favourite local restaurants. That drink sparked a feverish internet search for local, “culinary grade” lavender, which I found and purchased days later at a local farm store. I then used it to recreate the recipe at home – it turned out beautifully.
However, as I mentioned, most commonly, I’m inspired first by my farmstand and farm store findings. And that’s how I came to create this delicious Hazelnut Basil Pesto.
Last fall, I went to Heather’s Hazelnuts in Langley, BC for my first ever hazelnut u-pick experience. It was so peaceful walking among the rows of hazelnut trees, with a light breeze rustling the leaves, and a hint of autumn in the air. I collected a whole 5 gallon pail (I think it was 16lbs if I recall correctly) of nuts that day and I’ve since been using them in baking, salads, as a crust to coat chicken and fish with, and just on their own as snacks (they’re SO good just on their own) but I’m always excited to find new ways to enjoy them.
Now that summer is nearly upon us, it’s finally FRESH BASIL season again here in BC (among many other wonderful things, of course) and I couldn’t be more excited! Something about those aromatic leaves has me in a serious chokehold. Any time I come across a bag of locally-grown basil at one of our local farmstands or farm stores, I buy it. And a lot of it. So naturally, I was delighted when I found a huge bag of freshly-picked basil when I was at Kingfisher Farm Market recently.
It’s doesn’t take me long to use it all up either; I inevitably eat some of the leaves as-is in the Farm-to-City-mobile on the way home (the basil addiction is REAL). Sometimes they get layered generously between slices of creamy water buffalo mozzarella and juicy tomatoes and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic reduction for the perfect farm fresh caprese salad. Mostly, they get folded into my daily morning omelette. But I wanted to make a new-to-me recipe with them this time AND utilize more of my hazelnut stash. I once read somewhere that you could substitute walnuts for pine nuts in pesto recipes, so I figured why not try using hazelnuts? And why not indeed – they worked superbly. Here’s the recipe:
Hazelnut Basil Pesto Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
½ cup raw hazelnuts
1-2 cloves of garlic (I use 2 big ones because we like garlic ‘round here!)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese or another hard cheese like this Charmisan from Golden Ears Cheesecrafters.
½ cup olive oil
1-2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice (optional, for brightness)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Shell the hazelnuts (if starting with whole, in-shell hazelnuts, you’ll need a nutcracker tool).
Toast the shelled hazelnuts in a dry pan or in the oven at 350*F (175*C) for a few minutes until fragrant. Let cool.
In a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts and garlic until finely-chopped.
Add the basil and pulse several times.
Add the cheese.
With the processor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto reaches your desired consistency.
Season with salt, pepper, and fresh-squeezed lemon juice to taste.
Notes:
For a diary-free version, omit the cheese and add a little extra salt or spoonful of nutritional yeast
This pesto is excellent on pasta, grilled veggies, sandwiches, roast potatoes, or as a sauce for chicken, lamb, pork, fish, or seafood.
Lasts for about 4-7 days in the fridge.
Freeze pesto in ice cube trays (then transfer the cubes to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container) to keep it for up to 6 months in the freezer.
I hope you love this fresh hazelnut basil pesto recipe as much as I do! If you’re looking for locally grown hazelnuts, fresh basil, and other farm-fresh ingredients, there are plenty of amazing growers and producers across BC and beyond! Open the Farm to City App to discover local food outlets near you, and don’t forget to tag @farmtocitybc if you make this recipe - I’d love to see your inspired creations!
