Monday, August 10, 2009

Basil Pesto

I love pine nuts. I love Basil. I love parmesan cheese. I love olive oil. How could I not love Basil Pesto?? Its one of my favorite sauces to accompany pasta or a good turkey sandwich. Only problem... A 3 or 4 oz. jar of basil pesto ain't cheap, and it doesn't go far!

the culprit:
Look at the difference in volume when I make my own?? WOW!

So, I decided that I might as well venture out and make some Pesto. I used Ina Garten's recipe, but added a few of my own adjustments. I will give you her recipe and then add my changes at the end.

Basil Pesto

1/4 Cup Walnuts
1/4 Cup Pine Nuts
3 TBSP Minced Garlic, about 8 or 9 cloves
5 Cups Basil Leaves, packed firmly
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
1 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

Place Nuts and garlic in a food processor and pulse until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the basil, salt, and pepper & pulse again. With the motor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube and mix well. Add the parmesan cheese and puree for 1 minute longer. serve pesto or store in fridge or freezer. **You can freeze small cubes of pesto in an ice cube tray and then remove to ziplock bags once frozen. I typically can't use a whole batch of pesto in one recipe, so freezing them is a great alternative!

***Ok, so I altered a few things. I ended up using an additional TBSP of Pine Nuts, an 1/8 cup more Parmesan, and only 1 1/4 Cups Olive Oil. I then threw a little more Kosher Salt in. You will just need to try it and adjust taste to your liking. Next time, I will use a clove less of the Garlic as well! Delicious-ness! :)

3 comments:

  1. This looks cool. I'm clueless though, what would you eat this with and how?

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  2. I used it on a pizza the other day. Then last night I made some mini bruschetta's and used it on those as well! Its tasty!

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