Last week my nephew called and asked if he could have my recipe
for pesto. For the first time ever he has a small garden, and decided that he
wanted to grow basil and make his own. I sent him this recipe, along with the
link to this food processor
(a relatively inexpensive, yet reliable machine of
slightly smaller capacity), telling him that you must have a food processor in
order to make pesto, and, indeed, you do! But, the expenditure, and storage
space, is well worth it for something as delicious as this. If there is
something that beats fresh pesto in the fall, I’d like to know what it is. I
hobbled out into the open portion of my deck this morning (Did I mention that I
broke my toe? Yeah.), and gathered up half of the basil. Later on, just before
frost, I’ll retrieve the rest so that I can make my final batch of the year.
As I told my nephew, I don’t have a recipe, per se, just toss things together until, as my grandmother used to say, “it looks right.” I did manage to jot down what I do, and here it is. This is so good that I don’t even need pasta, I could eat it right out of the bowl.
As I told my nephew, I don’t have a recipe, per se, just toss things together until, as my grandmother used to say, “it looks right.” I did manage to jot down what I do, and here it is. This is so good that I don’t even need pasta, I could eat it right out of the bowl.
There are many ways to get creative with pesto. I will stir it
into mayonnaise to use a sandwich topping, put a dollop on top of soup, add
some to chicken salad, or blend a healthy amount into softened unsalted butter
to then spread on thick slices of French bread topped with grated cheese and
run onto the broiler for a minute or two. Heaven!
Pattie’s Fresh Basil and Walnut Pesto
2 c. packed fresh basil leaves, washed and thoroughly dried*
1/3 c. roughly chopped, toasted walnuts
1 large garlic clove
1/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan
1 t. freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ t. kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon Melissa’s Lemon Pepper Seasoning
1/4 - 1/3 cup good olive oil**
Place all ingredients EXCEPT olive oil into the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until thoroughly ground and paste-like. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until it reaches desired consistency. Taste for additional seasoning.
*I use a salad spinner for this
**More or less to reach desired consistency
If pesto is not your thing, this One-Pan 30-Minute Pasta Alfredo is sure to please.
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