Classic Basil Pesto

I make pesto so much that my husband gets tired of it. And it’s PESTO! Who gets tired of pesto???

To be fair, I have it in my fridge nearly all the time and want to put it on everything. It tastes delicious and goes well with a million things. Not to mention the fact that there are a ton of different variations you can do with the pesto itself. Artichoke pesto is my other favorite!

But let’s just stick with the classic pesto for today.

To make our pesto, first we’re going to need some toasted pine nuts:

Add those to a food processor along with some garlic, and puree until smooth:

Next, add in some basil, salt and pepper, and olive oil, and puree until it looks like this:

Add in some freshly grated parmesan cheese:

And once that is pulsed in, you can place it in a pretty bowl:

I love dipping baguette into it, tossing it with pasta, stirring it into risotto, slathering it on chicken breast, and a bazillion other things. What do you like to use pesto for?

Here’s the Basil Pesto Video recipe:

Classic Basil Pesto

Yield: 1.5-2 cups pesto

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic, peel removed
• 1/2 cup toasted pinenuts (can sub walnuts)
• 2 oz tub of fresh basil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Place the peeled garlic cloves and toasted pinenuts in a food processor, and process for about 30 seconds until it’s well pureed and almost pastey.
2. Strip off the leaves from the basil stems, and add the leaves only to the food processor, and pulse it in until the basil is chopped up.
3. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the mixture. With the food processor running, pour in the olive oil, and once it’s incorporated, stop the food processor. Add the parmesan cheese, and pulse it in a couple of times until incorporated.
4. Do a final taste of the pesto and decide if it might need more salt or pepper. Now it’s ready to be used and enjoyed!

All images and text ©Fifteen Spatulas.