PESTO!
Every year, my mother-in-law (many of you from class know her and her dance parties well) and I grow way more basil than we’ll ever need. So, we “put up” enough pesto to last the year, then we start from scratch with huge amounts of basil the next summer. Homemade pesto is so easy and quick to put together and always better than store-bought. Here’s my go-to recipe, honed to my version of perfection!
Nicole’s Pesto
Ingredients
1 packed cup of fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup of pine nuts or walnuts* or a mix (pine nuts are expensive and go fast, so I often combine them with cheaper and bigger walnuts)! *Julia Child okays this.
1/2 cup of parmesan (omit for dairy-free or vegan; but add some extra salt or a bit of nooch)
2 large garlic cloves or a few little ones
1/2 cup of good olive oil (the kind you use for salad dressings, see our panzanella post for more on this)
1 teaspoon of salt
Method
Add the basil, nuts, parmesan, and garlic cloves to a food processor* and mix until finely chopped.
Continue to mix as you pour the olive oil through the pour spout on your processor.
If necessary, stop mixing and use a spatula to add any ingredients that are sticking to the side of the processor back into the mix.
Add the salt and pulse a few times. Voila!
*If you don’t have a food processor, a high-speed blender can work in a pinch. Just add all of the ingredients at once instead of blending the dry ingredients first.
We use pesto for so many things - pasta mixed with sausage and arugula is a favorite, mozzarella & tomato sandwiches, pesto and cheese quesadillas, omelets, added to most any soup, a dip for bread, and so much more! Pesto can be frozen for months and months. ENJOY!
xoxo
Nicole
