Got Basil?




If you have an inordinate amount of basil growing in your garden this summer (me! me!), one of the easiest ways to put it to use is to make homemade pesto. My extremely easy recipe is below. I love pesto as a dip, spread, pasta topping, or pizza base. It is good in the fridge or about a week and also freezes well.


2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/4 cup grated
Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts (I have heard you can also use walnuts)
3 garlic cloves, finely minced


Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped (do about 3/4 cup at a time). Add about 1/3 the nuts and garlic, blend again.Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese; blend while adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, pausing to scrape down sides of container.Process until it forms a thick ,smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used, mix all batches together well.




5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like the basil in your garden is plentiful! I love pesto~~especailly on pasta. Was that dinner last night?

LG said...

I would like to eat that now. It is 9:30am.

neill said...

hard to beat homemade pesto! i also love it as a sandwich spread :-)

Coffee with Cathy said...

Fresh pesto is one of the easiest and best things to do with a basil abundance. Thanks for the reminder and the recipe.

Lindsey M. Cote said...

this is exactly what i've been looking for...i have more basil than i know what to do with. i also have a lot of chives. i made a garlic/chive cream cheese spread with that.