Woodier - The pesto cookbook: 116 recipes for creative herb combinations and dishes bursting with flavor

Richard Busch, potter and photographer, who created my garden of raised beds, whose wonderful bowls and plates are featured in many of the recipes, and who made my beautiful year-round She Shed, a garden den where I am able to escape and write uninterrupted for hours on end.

As a lover of traditional pesto since the time of my first introduction at Chez Robertos in Geneva, Switzerland, my perception of what pesto can be has changed significantly over the last 45 years. I grow many herbs and vegetables and cook dinner almost every night, so I often make pestos with whatever is at hand. The constant ingredients are herbs, oil, and garlic, but many variables are at play: I make pestos with or without nuts and with a variety of types of cheese or sometimes no cheese at all. Not all of my pestos or pastes even fall into the savory category. Some herbs work well in sweet pastes and pures mixed with fruits, nuts, dairy, and even chocolate.

Many factors influence what you might add to your own personal pesto. These include where you live and the season; which fresh herbs and greens you are able to grow, harvest, or purchase year-round; and whether you can find local ricotta, goat cheese, or fresh mozzarella, or whether you make your own. There is no end to the dishes that can be enhanced by a dollop of pesto. I stir pesto into risotto and other grain dishes, combine it with beans and chickpeas, spoon it over soup, drizzle it over slices of fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, rub it over meats and poultry, stuff it under the skin of chicken before roasting, and serve it alongside seafood.

Herbs and young greens can form the backbone of your pesto. Besides basil in its many varieties, there are so many leaves begging to be used think spinach, kale, watercress, arugula, cilantro, tarragon, bronze fennel, perilla, mint, and even nasturtium leaves and pea shoots. You can incorporate immature chard, beet, and kale leaves (no tough mature leaves, please), carrot tops, and celery leaves. Other savories include garlic scapes, garlic chives, ramp leaves and bulbs (ramsons), shallots, scallions, chives, thyme, rosemary, sage, lemon balm, and a range of mints. The list goes on and on you need only look at your gardens bounty, local farmers markets, or your CSA baskets.

As for nuts, I love to use universal favorites such as pine nuts, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds, peanuts, and cashews. My favorite seeds include sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame. Many types of cheese are possible candidates for my pestos. Parmesan, of course, because it is so flavorful and nutty. But you might also consider feta, goat, blue cheeses, and even some of the fantastically aged and nutty cheddars from Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.

Rather than some of the heavier extra-virgin olive oils, I prefer those that have milder fruit and buttery flavors, whether they come from California, Italy, Greece, Spain, or Tunisia. I also like to add grapeseed oil to cut the heaviness of some olive oils. And to add another layer of flavor and depth, you could include a little pumpkin seed oil, butternut squash seed oil, or avocado oil.

To keep leaves and flavors bright, I often add a light and somewhat sweet vinegar sweet meaning that they are not mouth-puckeringly acidic. I favor white and red balsamic vinegars, rice vinegar (plain or seasoned), and sometimes apple cider or sherry vinegars. Harsh wine vinegars are not on my list; it must be a mellow champagne variety or have some sweetness on the tongue.

So there you have it. You can make pestos, pastes, and pures from just about anything. I try to keep a few jars of various pestos and pures in my refrigerator at all times. Most last two to four weeks and even longer if they contain salt and vinegar. These little jars of greens, garlic, and oil are often my lifesavers at the end of a busy day. Even if I dont have a jar in the refrigerator, it hardly takes any time to throw a few ingredients into a food processor, and I can smear the resulting pure over something to pop under the broiler or in a grill pan, or toss it with greens or grains. Such instant flavor for such little work pestos are so very rewarding.

Pestos, pastes, and pures are ancient recipes made around the world with greens and herbs, garlic and spices, seeds and nuts, oils, and other ingredients depending on a countrys agriculture and cuisine. Today, chefs and cooks everywhere are creating pestos from spinach, kale, arugula, peppers, tomatoes, and whatever else they are growing in their kitchen gardens, in containers on decks and patios, and indoors in hydroponic gardens. And of course, its easy to find an abundance of fresh herbs and greens at farmers markets and most supermarkets.

One of the most familiar pestos originated in Genoa, Italy, in the province of Liguria. Made from basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano and/or Pecorino Romano cheeses, pesto Genovese is a traditional Italian sauce for dressing pasta. It is also delicious with fish, meats, vegetables, soups, and breads.

Basil was introduced to Mediterranean countries via the ancient spice routes from India. It was possibly used by the Romans, who ground a mixture of herbs, cheese, and garlic into a paste called moretum. Italians in Liguria adapted the Roman cheese and garlic dish to include the basil and pine nuts that grew profusely on their hillsides. Using their local olive oil, they ground everything together into pesta, which comes from pestare, meaning to pound or crush in a mortar with a pestle. In 1863, Giovanni Battista Ratto provided what is believed to be the first modern recipe for pesto in his book La Cuciniera Genovese.

Pesto is very regional in Italy. In Calabria, pesto alla calabrese consists of roasted bell peppers, garlic, black pepper, basil, cheese, and olive oil. Pesto rosso, from Sicily, is red from the addition of tomatoes and from using just a little basil. Gremolata or gremolada is a thick paste made from chopped parsley, lemon zest, and garlic, sometimes with the addition of olive oil, breadcrumbs, anchovies, and Pecorino Romano cheese. It is the traditional accompaniment to osso buco alla Milanese (braised veal shank, although lamb shanks are interchangeable).