Southern Green Tea Pesto Aioli

Directions

1Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add tea bags and set timer for 3 minutes. Blanch the basil by submersing it in boiling water (with the tea bags) for 10 seconds. Immediately remove basil using a slotted spoon, transfer to ice water, and stir to stop the cooking process. Lay out on paper towels to dry. Once timer goes off, remove the tea bags, and set on a plate to cool.

2In a blender or food processor, pulse together the pecans, parmesan, and garlic until pecans are mostly broken down. Open tea bags once cool enough to handle and add bloomed tea to the blender.

3Add the basil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. With the blender on medium speed, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. If it is too thick, add more liquid. If it is too thin, add more basil.

4Remove and divide the pesto in half, placing one half in jar to use as is, and stirring the other half together with the mayonnaise to create the pesto aioli.

Use the abundance of fresh summer basil from your garden to make something that will brighten everything from potato wedges to burgers to pasta. Blanching the basil preserves the bright green color of the basil and helps retain the fresh flavor longer.