Basil Pesto

When I was a kid, my very well-traveled grandmother introduced me to a variety of foods not typically found on an American 7-year-old’s radar. French chocolate mousse, artichokes with mayonnaise, pickled haricot vert, wine (yes, wine), but my favorite was always pasta a la pesto. Perfectly al dente angel hair bathed in an explosively flavorful sauce of bright green basil and salty parmesan cheese. I couldn’t get enough. And thus began a lifelong love affair with basil pesto.

When it comes to pesto, there are no limits to what you can achieve with just a dollop or two: toss it with pasta, spread it on bread, mix into some mayo, spoon it over soup, drizzle on a salad, dip raw veggies in it, scramble right into some eggs, slather atop a fish fillet, etc, etc, etc.

A verdant grass-green, its fragrant, garlic-spiced herbiness instantly jazzes up everything it touches, in both appearance and character. And even better, it comes together in a flash. Toss everything into the food processor, scoop it out into a little glass jar and it’s pesto time, baby!

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Basil Pesto

I pretty much always have some fresh pesto on hand in the fridge throughout summer - it's a great way to dress up savory foods.

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Prep Time

5 minutes

Servings

cup MetricUS Imperial

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 2 cloves or 3garlic peeled
• 2 cups basil leaves
• 1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Prep Time 5 minutes Servings cup MetricUS Imperial Ingredients 1/3 cup pine nuts 2 cloves or 3garlic peeled 2 cups basil leaves 1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil sea salt and black pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, toast the pine nuts over medium heat until slightly browned, stirring every so often to make sure they're browning evenly.
2. Pour toasted pine nuts into a food processor and process until finely chopped.
3. With the machine still running, add the garlic through the feeder tube, mincing it right into the pine nuts.
4. Turn it off and scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the basil and cheese and process again until fully incorporated.
5. Scrape down the sides again, then with the machine running, slowly drizzle olive oil through the feeder tube until the pesto reaches your desired consistency. (I don't ever end up adding the full 1/2 cup.)
6. Add salt and pepper to taste and use immediately, or store pesto in a glass jar in the fridge, drizzled over the top with a bit more olive oil.