Fresh Basil Pesto

This fresh pesto recipe has been my go-to recipe for the last few years and I was surprised recently to see that I'd never shared it here on the blog.   At least a few times each summer and fall, I will whip up a batch of this delicious pesto, and make some of my favorite pesto recipes (Pesto Tortellini Salad, Chicken Pesto Pizzas,  Pesto and Tomato Pasta, Turkey-Pesto Roll-Ups).  Usually I just make a half batch, since my spindly basil plants often don't have five cups of leaves at a time, but half-batch or full-batch we always manage to eat it all.  Besides the pesto recipes, we love to spread some on our sandwiches or use it as a meat marinade. What about you?  What are your favorite ways to use pesto?   

Recipe adapted slightly from:  Food Network:  Barefoot Contessa

Click here for printable recipe. 

The ingredients:

¼ cup walnuts
¼ cup pine nuts 
3 Tbs. minced garlic (~9 cloves)  (if you're not a huge garlic fan, then you may want to cut this amount in half)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1-¼ cups olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Directions:  Place the walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade (or in a blender). Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the blender running, slowly add the olive oil and process until the pesto is finely pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Serve, or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top. Makes 2-1/2 cups.   Serve over pasta, as a pizza topping, stir into meatballs, spread onto sandwiches, or brush over meat as a marinade.  Enjoy!