This is one of those recipes that isn’t really a recipe. You know the kind with add a little of this or that, what ever you have on hand. I know some people reading are thinking, “oh lord I can’t make recipes like that, they always turnout bad.” I used to be one of those people! Never thinking that I could just whip something up. But this is so, so easy and if I can do it you can too:) Trust me.
I love to make this in the summer and freeze it to have a taste of summer when it’s 23 degrees outside- it’s also really good on toasted bread in the winter- yum!
I start with 1 bunch of basil from your farmers market or farm stand or if you’re near Monmouth County go to Delicious Orchards– you won’t be disappointed(you can taste tomatoes here too- with salt!) You need a lot of basil and if I don’t have enough on my own plant(I usually don’t) I buy it and/or I use spinach and/or other green herbs like parsley, sometimes I combine them all. Then I toast up about 3/4 cup of pine nuts(I just dump some into a frying pan for 5 minutes or so) or if you don’t have those you can use walnuts or anything else. I buy pine nuts at Costco in bulk which saves some money, just freeze what you don’t use for next time. Then I add some parmigiano-reggiano grated cheese(or any fresh grated cheese you have- preferably not the Kraft kind), salt & pepper to taste. I combine all these in the food processor. Then once combined, with the food processor on, I drizzle in extra virgin olive oil(EVOO for those Rachel Ray fans!) until I get a creamy mixture. That’s it- very easy! To be honest it comes out a little different each time, but still tastes great! This is for 1 batch as seen in the photo below right which is about a cup of pesto.
I love summer and pesto and easy dinners, Enjoy:)
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