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Lemon-Balm Recipe

Light and lemony, this pesto makes a perfect pasta sauce in the spring. Serve on high-protein rotini to create a main dish. Also excellent as a sandwich spread or on crackers as an appetizer. Lemon balm pesto is more delicate than traditional basil pesto, but makes a lovely seasonal treat.

Lemon balm is a perennial herb that is very easy to grow and lovely enough for the front garden. It's an excellent example of an ornamental plant that requires very little care, yet can provide you with free food for years after you plant it. Take cuttings freely; like most herbs, the balm will produce fresh new leaves when pinched back. Let it seed in in the fall, then the next spring pull any unwanted new plants to make a big batch of lemon-balm pesto. Freeze what you don’t use within two or three days.

Active time: 18 minutes. Makes 8 servings, ¼ cup each.

Cost in April 2009 when served with three-quarters cup of high-protein pasta: 84 cents regular and $1.41 green, assuming the balm was free since you grew your own.

Ingredients

6 ounces parmesan cheese, grated
4 cloves garlic
2 cups tightly-packed lemon-balm leaves
1 cup shelled walnuts
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup olive oil
pepper and more salt, to taste

Method

1. Rinse lemon balm well in a bowl of water. Let it soak until needed.

2. Grate parmesan if needed.

3. Peel garlic. Set up your food processor with the cutting blade or use a blender. Turn the machine on and drop the garlic in while the blade is turning. Turn off when garlic is minced, after about 10 seconds.

4. Rinse the lemon balm well and pat dry with towel. Remove leaves and put in food processor or blender. Put walnuts and salt on top of leaves. Process until finely chopped but still a bit rough.

5. With the machine going, slowly pour in olive oil.

6. Stop the machine and add parmesan cheese. Process briefly to mix. Taste. Add salt and pepper as needed.

7. To serve, stir pesto into hot cooked pasta or spread on bread or crackers. Eat warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate or freeze any extra.

Tips and notes

• Save the balm stems to make tea. Just pour boiling water over the stems and steep for about five minutes.

• Spread out the expenses when making a big batch to freeze by leaving out the cheese. When ready to use, thaw pesto and stir in grated cheese.

• Correction made: this recipe was originally published as Lemon-Verbena Pesto, but an alert reader corrected the name of the plant. It should be Lemon Balm, with the botanical name Melissa officinalis. Lemon balm may inhibit thyroid function, so if you have a thyroid condition consult your physician before eating it.