Can you guess what's happening in my kitchen?
If you grow basil this may be a familiar sight right about now.
Pesto making time.
Last winter my sister-in-law gave me a cutting from the basil plant she had growing on her kitchen windowsill.
When I got home I stuck it in water and waited a few weeks until it sprouted roots. At that time I planted it in a little pot on my kitchen counter and cared for it until it was safe to plant it outside in my garden.
It is now thriving out there in the garden as you can tell by the size of the leaf above.
Seemed an ideal time to harvest some for a batch of pesto.
As I was making it my mouth was watering just thinking about it's intended purpose...
With just four simple ingredients, this recipe has become our favorite summertime sandwich.
If you'd like to try it, you will need:
- a nice loaf of crusty Italian bread
- a nice fresh tomato
- fresh mozzarella cheese
- basil pesto
Slice your bread.
Spread each slice with pesto.
Lay mozzarella slices and tomato slices on one piece of bread.
Put the other piece of bread on top.
Brush the outside of each piece of the bread with a bit of olive oil and cook in a pre-heated skilled as you would a regular grilled cheese sandwich.
Once the bread is toasty and golden and the cheese is "melty",
cut in half and enjoy.
A little taste of summer!
Oh yummy! Beautiful, too! Your basil is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteIt's time to make pesto here. Your sandwich captures the perfection of summer!
ReplyDeleteSo delicious! My mouth is watering...can you tell I'm hungry? :-)
ReplyDeleteYum! Looks and sounds so good! I didn't plant basil this year. I was going to, but every time I looked at plants, they didn't look very healthy.
ReplyDeleteBrenda
That looks so yummy...I'm hungry now too! And we had zucchini last night. We put it on shish k bobs on the grill...onion, sweet peppers, zucchini and cubes of chicken breast. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful healthy looking basil.
ReplyDeleteThat looks so good.
Now that does look good! Wah! I did not grow basil this year.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! That looks so good!!
ReplyDeleteMy mouth is watering as well! My kind of lunch :-)
ReplyDeleteJeannette
My basil is coming to an end now - but what a wonderful productive season it has been. I've lots of little packets of pesto in my freezer for winter - good added to soups and veggie stews, and what would be better than a tomato and cheese sandwich like this on a chilly winter day!
ReplyDeleteI read about a light spread of mayo on the outside of a grilled sandwich instead of butter which I always used before (I use an electric panini maker) and it makes an awesome crispy/crunchy crust. I'll try olive oil (more healthy!) too.