Basil Pesto
Homemade pesto is one of the first recipes I mastered.
We grow (aka my husband grows) fresh basil in our mini-garden behind our townhome. This past year, Dave expanded our garden to our driveway, where he grew lots of hot peppers and a few other varieties of basil. One is called Newton basil and the other is called Rutgers Passion basil. He was interested in these varieties because they were understood to be more resistant to downy mildew - something our mainstream plant often got sick from.
Whenever basil is in season, I loooove love love to make fresh pesto. It's my go-to and I could eat it by the spoonful.
Two warnings:
- Homemade pesto is addictive.
- My pesto a very unrecipe recipe and I never measure. I just go by some general guidelines and taste along the way.
I start the same way every time though - dropping one garlic clove in the food processor to prime the flavor. The rest, while unmeasured and not-exact, come down to a few big handfuls of basil (washed and fully dried), lots of pine nuts, a big sprinkle of grated parm cheese, some salt and pepper, then drizzle in good olive oil until you're satisfied with the texture. Taste and adjust seasoning or add more cheese ... whatever calls you!
When it comes to pesto for me, the chunkier, the better. Dave on the other hand loves his thinned out a little more. The perfect compromise? Make the batch on the thicker side, then when we serve it, he'll drizzle some extra olive oil into his bowl and mix it all together.
I love pesto over pasta with some chicken or shrimp. I also love it on a chicken salad sandwich or on top of salmon. You really can't go wrong.
Basil Pesto
ingredients:
- Fresh basil leaves with large stems removed - washed and fully dried
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 cup grated parm cheese
- 1/4 cup of good olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
instructions:
How to make Basil Pesto
- Place the garlic clove into the food processor and pulse until chopped.
- Add the basil, then pulse a couple of times.
- Add the parm cheese, pine nuts and some salt and pepper. Turn the processor on to blend everything together.
- Give it a taste. You may want to add a little more seasoning at this point.
- Slowly drizzle in olive oil until you're happy with the consistency and adjust seasonings as needed. More oil will create a thinner pesto, whereas less oil will create a thicker, more concentrated pesto.
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