In my fantasy life living on a farm, autumn would be dedicated to “putting things up.” I’d pickle, can, preserve, dry, and freeze all the waning garden bounty before it succumbed to the first frost. In my Brooklyn reality, however, my garden gets just enough sun to nourish the few pots of herbs I try to remember to water. But that doesn’t stop me from preserving my harvest to the utmost. Which means that come October, I make pesto for the freezer.
After a quick spin in the food processor, a jumble of bright green leaves, beige nuts, and dark oil becomes an emerald emulsion with a heady, herbal, garlicky fragrance that immediately fills the kitchen and makes your stomach growl. With it, I could make myself a hearty meal of pasta with pesto. But brunch is also appropriate, especially on a particular Sunday, giving me an excuse to make another of my pesto staples, softly scrambled eggs with pesto and cheese.
I vary the cheeses to match the contents of my refrigerator, using Cheddar, Gruyère, goat cheese, and even cream cheese with great success. On that day, the fridge yielded up some fresh ricotta.
After scrambling the eggs until they were barely set with large, quivering curds, I streaked in some freshly made pesto and dotted the top with ricotta. The ricotta, normally sweet and creamy, tasted even more so next to the salty, pungent pesto, and made a dense, luscious foil for the cloudlike eggs. It was a perfect meal that, thanks to my pesto stash, I’d get to enjoy all winter long.
makes about 1 cup
½ cup pine nuts
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces fresh basil, stemmed (about 5 cups leaves)
2 or 3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add the pine nuts. Toast them, shaking the pan and stirring, until golden brown all over, about 3 minutes. Pour the nuts onto a plate to cool.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Use immediately, or transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
serves 2
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
5 large eggs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Pinch salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons pesto (recipe precedes), plus more to taste
⅓ cup fresh ricotta cheese, broken up into clumps
1. In a medium skillet, preferably well seasoned or nonstick, over medium-low heat, melt the butter.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, Parmesan (if using), salt, and pepper to taste. Pour the eggs into the pan, swirl, and reduce the heat to low. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, scramble the eggs until very loosely set and still runnier than you like them. Remove the pan from the heat and drizzle the pesto on top of the eggs. Give the eggs one more gentle scramble—enough to finish cooking them and to distribute the pesto somewhat—but do not overstir. The pesto should still be in dark green streaks, not homogenously combined with the eggs. Scatter the ricotta on top of the eggs and drizzle with more pesto, if desired. Serve at once.