At last, I get to make homemade pesto! I finally got myself a food processor and the very first thing I wanted to make was pesto. I was not disappointed! It turned out so much more delicious than the expensive jarred stuff that, in my opinion, is just awful! Plus, it takes less than 5 minutes to make. I split my pesto into a few glass mason jars and placed 1 jar in the fridge and the rest in the freezer for later use. One of these days I need to make a pesto chicken sandwich like they make at Red Robin...
Basil Pesto
Credit: The Weeknight Cook by Williams-Sonoma
Ingredients
Fresh Basil- 4 cups tightly packed leaves
Garlic-4 cloves
Olive Oil-1 cup
Pine nuts- ⅔ cup, toasted
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Parmesan cheese- 1 ½ cups, freshly grated
Unsalted butter- 4 tablespoons at room temperature
Directions
In a food processor, combine the basil, garlic, oil, pine nuts, 1 teaspoon salt, and several grindings of pepper. Process until a coarse paste forms, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheese and butter.
Can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the pesto to prevent discoloring.
*Use for Chicken-Pesto Panini with Mozzarella
**Freezing tip: It works great if you spread your pesto into an ice cube tray and freeze. Once the cubes are frozen, remove from tray and place in ziploc freezer bag. This makes it simple when you need to use it in future recipes, just grab as many cubes as you need!
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