Basil shouldn’t have all the fun! Make the most fresh and yummy oregano pesto – you may never go back to basil again!
Ok, I might be in the minority here, but I have a love/hate relationship with basil. It is SO summery and I absolutely love it! But then sometimes I pick it and it tastes like black licorice. What is the problem!?
I cannot get consistently basil-y tasting basil. As a result, sometimes my pesto tastes like garbage – please forgive me if you are a black licorice fan!
My other problem is that my oregano is out of control all the time. Do you have oregano? It literally takes over the garden and produces SO much! I mean, it’s mid May in Northeast Ohio, and this guy is already a monster!
So last year I decided that I would take a risk. I would try to make a normal pesto recipe with oregano and see how it turned out. Wouldn’t you know that it was absolutely unbelievably amazing?! It was so fresh and herby and had not a hint of gross black licorice flavor!
So I froze it and I can’t tell you how delicious it was in the middle of winter. All that summer goodness packed into a quart zip top baggie for me to use when the ground is covered in ice and snow. What a treat.
So here it is!
How to make oregano pesto
You can make oregano pesto in a Vitamix or a food processor. I don’t love to clean out my huge food processor for a small dish like this, so I tend to use my Vitamix. I have this one and I absolutely love it! I’ve owned it for around 13 year and it is worth every single dollar I paid for it!
I’ll show you how it’s made in a Vitamix and you can just do the same thing in a food processor if you have that instead. I suppose a blender also works too! I just haven’t had a regular blender in a while but I bet that would work fine.
Harvest your oregano
You’ll want to start with garden fresh oregano. You can pick this from your own garden, or get it from someone else’s. I am not shy when harvesting my oregano. I cut it totally down to the ground and it always comes back with a vengeance! This is all that’s left after my harvesting and I bet it will be completely back in about 3 weeks.
I use a few very large handfuls because it really blends down into a very small amount. Bring it in and wash it and then put it through the salad spinner to get all the water off.
If you can’t use it right away, that’s ok. Just put a paper towel in the bottom of an airtight container and store it in there after it has been washed. It should last a few days until you can get to it.
Gather ingredients for oregano pesto
Really good olive oil
parmesan cheese – or pecorino romano
fresh oregano
lemon juice
fresh garlic
salt
Grate the cheese
If you bought a block of cheese, get that grated. If you bought already grated parmesan, you’re in luck! Just measure it out! Isn’t that parmesan so dreamy?! I love cheese too much…
Microplane your garlic
Rachel Ray taught me years and years ago to use a microplane for my garlic. I know some people would just throw the whole clove in the blender, but I don’t want to take the chance that there would be a chunk left!
Juice the lemon
This part is pretty simple. Roll the lemon on the counter to get the juices flowing, then juice the lemon. Strain the seeds out of the lemon juice and you’re ready to go!
Fill up the Vitamix with pesto ingredients
This part goes SO fast!
Strip the leaves off the oregano stems and throw those in the Vitamix first. They’re light and so the heavier ingredients will hold them down.
We do the same thing when we make green smoothies by putting the spinach or kale in the bottom and then piling all the heavier items on top. It really helps to blend it quicker without leaves flying all over the inside of the Vitamix.
Add the lemon juice, parmesan cheese, good olive oil and salt to taste. Everyone has a different salt level that they like, so add to your taste. Blend until all the ingredients are incorporated into a loose paste. You may have to use the stick that goes with the Vitamix to get it all pressed down into the blades.
If you do use a Vitamix, you’ll want to make sure you don’t let it blend for too long. Because the machine heats up, it does tend to heat what’s in the blending container if you let it go for a while.
OPTIONAL ADDITION – Toast your pine nuts
Sometimes I add a handful of toasted pine nuts to this. My son has a nut allergy, so it’s not super often. But if he’s not eating dinner with us, I LOVE to add pine nuts! Here’s the instructions on how to add those.
Put the pine nuts in a cast iron pan and slowly heat them until they begin to brown up. I keep moving them around with a wooden spoon while they work their magic.
Once they start toasting, they go really fast, so make sure to get them out of the pan as soon as they look the right color. Put them on a plate and let them cool.
Serve your oregano pesto
That’s it! I toss mine with freshly made pasta and it’s unbelievable! As I’m dreaming about it right now, I think it would taste absolutely amazing mixed with creamy Alfredo and then topped with grilled chicken.
Serve it immediately, because as it hits the heat of the pasta, it turns from bright green into a darker green. So it’s prettiest when it is first mixed.
You could also:
*add a little more olive oil and slather this on chicken before you grill it
*Make my cold fermented pizza crust and use it as a sauce and then top it with chicken and cheese
*mix it with mayo and dip fries into it (this is AMAZING – I couldn’t stop eating it!)
*add it to more vinegar and oil to make a homemade vinaigrette
*use it as a condiment on sandwiches
There are so many ways you could use this!
Freeze what’s left – if there is any!
I put my leftovers in a quart baggie and freeze it flat. Then when I want to use it, I just open the frozen baggie and break off a chunk. It works perfectly! There’s nothing like having a tase of summer in the dead of winter!
Of course when I made it today, I only had one snack baggie and that’s all! So I improvised and used that. Make sure when you freeze it, you put it on something to make it lay flat. With quart baggies, I normally use a cookie sheet. Today, since I just had a snack baggie, I put it on an ice pack for lunchboxes.
I can’t wait for you to try this spring and summer treat. I think you’ll love it!
Simple Oregano Pesto (fresh from the garden!)
Basil shouldn't have all the fun! Make the most fresh and yummy oregano pesto – you may never go back to basil again!
- 3 big handfuls freshly harvested oregano (approx. 3 packed cups)
- 1/2 cup good olive oil
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese or pecorino Romano
- 1 lemon, juiced (about 2T.)
- 1 fresh garlic clove
- salt to taste
Harvest your oregano
You'll want to start with garden fresh oregano. I use a few very large handfuls because it really blends down into a very small amount. Bring it in and wash it and then put it through the salad spinner to get all the water off.Â
If you can't use it right away, that's ok. Just put a paper towel in the bottom of an airtight container and store it in there after it has been washed. It should last a few days until you can get to it.
Grate the cheese
If you bought a block of cheese, get that grated. If you bought already grated, you're in luck because you're done with this step!
Juice your lemon
This part is pretty simple. Roll the lemon on the counter to get the juices flowing, then juice the lemon. Strain the seeds out of the lemon juice and you're ready to go!
Microplane your garlic
Rachel Ray taught me years and years ago to use a microplane for my garlic. I know some people would just throw the whole clove in the blender, but I don't want to take the chance that there would be a chunk left!
Fill up the Vitamix with pesto ingredients
This part goes SO fast!
Strip the leaves off the oregano stems and throw those in the Vitamix first. They're light and so the heavier ingredients will hold them down.Â
We do the same thing when we make green smoothies by putting the spinach or kale in the bottom and then piling all the heavier items on top. It really helps to blend it quicker without leaves flying all over the inside of the Vitamix.Â
Add the lemon juice, parmesan cheese, good olive oil and salt to taste. Everyone has a different salt level that they like, so do what you like. Blend until all the ingredients are incorporated into a loose paste. You may have to use the stick that goes with the Vitamix to get it all pressed down into the blades.
If you do use a Vitamix, you'll want to make sure you don't let it blend for too long. Because the machine heats up, it does tend to heat what's in the blending container if you let it go for a while.Serve your oregano pesto
OPTIONAL ADDITION toast your pine nuts
Sometimes I add a handful of toasted pine nuts to this. My son has a nut allergy, so it's not super often. But if he's not eating dinner with us, I LOVE to add pine nuts! Here's the instructions on how to add those.
Put the pine nuts in a cast iron pan and slowly heat them until they begin to brown up. I keep moving them around with a wooden spoon while they work their magic.Â
Once they start toasting, they go really fast, so make sure to get them out of the pan as soon as they look the right color. Put them on a plate and let them cool. Make sure to do this first so they can cool while you complete the other steps.
Serve your oregano pesto
That's it! I toss mine with freshly made pasta and it's unbelievable! As I'm dreaming about it right now, I think it would taste absolutely amazing mixed with creamy Alfredo and then topped with grilled chicken.Â
Serve it immediately, because as it hits the heat of the pasta, it turns from bright green into a darker green. So it's prettiest when it is first mixed.
Other ways to use your oregano pesto
*add a little more olive oil and slather this on chicken before you grill it
*use it as a pizza sauce and then top it with chicken and cheese
*mix it with mayo and dip fries into it (this is AMAZING – I couldn't stop eating it!)
*add it to more vinegar and oil to make a homemade vinaigretteÂ
*use it as a condiment on sandwiches
There are so many ways you could use this!
Freeze what's left – if there is any!
I put my leftovers in a quart baggie and freeze it flat. Then when I want to use it, I just open the frozen baggie and break off a chunk. It works perfectly! There's nothing like having a tase of summer in the dead of winter!
Pin for Later!
