Rose Basil Pesto

The Herb of the Year and my How to Eat a Rose book have been getting some good publicity, like this TribLive Lifestyles piece, below. Today I gave an interview on GardenLife Radio talk show, where John, one of the hosts, had just yesterday attended the International Rose Trials in California (sponsored by the World Federation of Rose Societies), and he was impressed with a new rose named 'J.P. Chardonay', a very frangrant hybrid tea to be introduced soon. And a couple of weeks back Felder Rushing interviewed me for his radio show, The Gestalt Gardener.

Click on the above picture to read the text.

I'm doing my best to get word out about the Rose as the official Herb of the Year for 2012. If you have ideas for publicity for this blog in promoting the Herb of the Year, let me know. If you belong to a rose or herb society, please pass the link to this blog along to the members. The more people who read (and follow) the blog, the better we can let people know about this wonderful herb for the coming year. (In case you have difficulty figuring out how to Follow this blog, click here, for instructions and several simple options for Following).

Climbing 'Josephs' Coat' is pleasantly fragrant.

This rose, above, caught my attention when I visited the Luther Burbank home in Santa Rosa, CA recently. Joseph's Coat was a favorite rose from my childhood and the Climbing Joseph's Coat was introduced just a big after the bush variety, as I recall. While Burbank did a great deal of work with roses and the rose cousin, apples, I don't think he had anything to do with this particular rose. The rose is pleasingly fragrant and the many colors of reds, yellows and pinks on the plant make it a good choice for culinary uses.

Fragrant bouquet of David Austin roses.

The bouquet, above, was part of the David Austin Roses display at their booth in the Garden Writers of America trade show I attended in August. David Austin roses are shrub roses, easy to care for, disease resistant and delightfully fragrant and flavored. (Remember, if it smells good, it's going to taste good, too).

'Perfume Delight' Hybrid Tea

Perfume Delight Hybrid Tea is well named. Not all tea roses have fragrance but more and more rose breeders are paying some attention to the fragrance of their roses instead of breeding simply for how the rose looks. Perfume Delight is an excellent choice for sandwiches, ice cream and other sweet dishes.

Rose sandwiches at the Herb Society of America conference; photo courtesy of Susan Belsinger.

Rose salad, served in a homemade cracker bowl.

The photo above is a simple little salad of rose petals, begonia blossoms, lemon basil leaves, cherry tomatoes, blue cheese and a tiny bit of baby lettuce leaves, dressed with raspberry vinegar. I served the salads in tiny bowls made from cracker dough (recipe in my book, Homemade Crackers Using Herbs). Any homemade cracker recipe will work for making your own bowls. The salad was part of a meal I fixed as a fund-raising event for the Slow Foods group in Fayetteville, AR. The goal was to serve a 7-course dinner, without using plates, forks or spoons, thus the salad bowl made of cracker dough. It was a hit.

Here's a recipe you might enjoy. Use it on pasta with a cream sauce, or spread it on very thin white bread, topped with thinly sliced tomato, cucumber, avocado and fragrant rose petals. (If you copy this recipe or share it, please credit my book, How to Eat a Rose).

Rose and Basil Pesto
2 cups fresh basil
1 cup fragrant rose petals
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup pine nuts (I prefer walnuts)
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon food grade rose water
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (don't substitute bottled juice)
1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/4 cup Romano cheese, freshly grated
Salt, optional

Peel and coarsely chop garlic, then add rose petals, basil, nuts and olive oil in food processor. Pulse blend until everything is well pulverized.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well. This can be stored for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

This is a simple appetizer; my Rose Dipping Sauce with tart apples. Photo courtesy of Susan Belsinger.
 If you missed it, here's my how-to video on my YouTube channel for making Rose butter.