Basil Pesto
This Spring I planted seeds to grow a kitchen herb garden of basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, sage, and cilantro. Amazingly, they’ve grown into big plants and now I have a mountain of basil. (Learn more about harvesting basil here.)
So I’ve been trying to find fun ways to use fresh herbs in our cooking at home. The tastiest way to use a couple cups of basil leaves is by making basil pesto! Since the chef works all day on Sunday, I found a recipe on the Food and Wine website that I wanted to try out. It turned out to be a great recipe!
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups (lightly packed) basil leaves
1/2 t. lemon juice
salt
Instructions
1
Coat a small saute pan with a small amount of olive oil, and heat over medium high heat. Add the pine nuts and stir constantly until golden. It took around 3-4 minutes.
2
In a food processor, pulse the toasted pine nuts, garlic, and Parmesan cheese for about 15 seconds, or until chopped.
3
Scrape down the side of the bowl, and add the basil and pulse until minced.
4
With the food processor on, slowly pour the 1/4 olive oil in a thin stream. Then add the lemon juice and season with salt.
5
If you’re not planning on using it all right away, place the pesto into an ice cube tray and freeze for later.
Categories:Main Course
Wed to a Chef
