Week 7: Fresh Basil Pesto

The recipe I tried this week was fresh basil pesto. I used it on pasta but it can also be used over baked potatoes or spread over toasted baguette slices. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would so I would probably never try this recipe again. However, it wasn’t terrible so I might recommend it to someone that I thought would like it. It just wasn’t my kind of food. If you are not a fan of pine nuts or walnuts, you can take them out of the recipe and it might still work. Or you could add another nut of your choosing. But overall, it was an okay kind of meal.

Fresh Basil Pesto

·Print (with photos)

Ingredients:

1 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 T  pine nuts or walnuts

1 medium sized garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

directions:

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1/2 cup.