Bailie’s Basil Pesto
Pesto is life.
That should be all I type about this post because that’s all there really is to say about it. I freaking love pesto, and it’s so easy to make you should never buy the store bought stuff again.
You will find pesto made a million different ways out there: basil pesto, olive pesto, pesto with almonds or cashews.. You can kind of make it your own, play around with the ingredients and quantities and see what you like best.
My favorite way to make pesto is using only basil, but it’s expensive and I don’t always have enough in my garden. In that case, I like using arugula because it’s naturally peppery and just has more flavor than other greens. Feel free to use spinach, but you’ll need to add more pepper to the mix. If basil doesn’t cost a small fortune where you live, you can just use 2-3 cups of basil and you won’t need any other kind of greenery in there.
Just make sure to add salt and pepper to taste and you’ve got amazing homemade pesto on your hands.
You can lightly toast your pine nuts in a sauce pan or skillet over medium heat for a few minutes until they start turning brown on the bottoms.
Basil Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 C. basil
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 C. pine nuts, toasted
- 1 shallot (optional but worth it)
- ¾ C. shredded or freshly grated parmesan
- ½ - 1 C. olive oil
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients except the olive oil to a food processer and pulse until everything is well chopped.
- If your food processor allows, run on low while pouring the olive oil in through the top to combine well. You may need to stop and scrape the sides down and then finish with the rest of the olive oil. Start with ½ C. and add more to your desired consistency.
- Refrigerate before serving if possible for the flavors to meld together for 30+ minutes.
Notes
Serve with garlic bread, veggies, on a pizza, in pasta, or literally anyway, it’s SO good.
