Pesto spices up summer vegetables

The bounty of summer - yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes and garden beans - all benefit from a generous dollop of fresh, homemade pesto. Spread onto meat and seafood as a rub, sandwiched between slices of heirloom tomatoes, brushed onto grilled vegetables or added to your favorite pasta, the classic salty, herby and garlicky flavors of pesto add an interesting and powerful seasoning to a wide variety of summer dishes.

The base of classic pesto includes excellent quality olive oil, fresh Genovese basil, pungent garlic, salty cheese and pine nuts. Technically a sauce, pesto originated in the Italian province of Liguria, a region along...