Fresh Basil Pesto

Fresh basil blended with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, parmesan cheese, almonds, and lemon pepper to create a healthy and delicious basil pesto. Easy to make, this basil pesto is perfect on toast, with pasta, or as a dip. 

Fresh Basil Pesto | Cooking with a Wallflower

Is pesto perfect for fall or what?

I love the taste of fresh basil. It has a distinctive fragrance that complements tons of food.

So it’s about time I made my own basil pesto to pair with some of my favorite foods. Pesto on bread, pesto in my pasta, pesto as a dip, pesto as a sauce for pizza. Just to name a few possibilities. =)

Fresh Basil Pesto | Cooking with a Wallflower

I could always buy a container of pesto from the local supermarket, but it’s not as fresh, and you can never tell what extra ingredients might have been added.

With a simple recipe such as this one, you know exactly what you’re adding to your sauce. Not only that, once you’re comfortable with making pesto, you can customize it to your liking. Like extra nuts? Toss more in. Like more citrus? Add lemon juice. Easy, right?

Normally, pesto is made in a food processor, but I actually made mine in a Magic Bullet. It’s just a whole lot more convenient for me: easy to clean (yes!) and not as bulky (we have a huge one).

How can you make your own?

Fresh Basil Pesto | Cooking with a Wallflower

Add a cup of basil leaves, packed down as much as possible, into a food processor or blender. Next, pour extra virgin olive oil into the blender. If you’re not a fan of the taste of Extra Virgin Olive Oil since it is a bit strong, you can substitute with Olive Oil. I switch between the two. Add parmesan cheese (freshly grated or the grated ones in the shakers), almond slivers or pine nuts, minced garlic, and a tiny bit of lemon pepper and salt.

Blend all of these ingredients together until the consistency is to your liking.

Serve the pesto with bread or pasta.

Enjoy!

Fresh Basil Pesto | Cooking with a Wallflower

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Fresh Basil Pesto
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Fresh basil blended with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, parmesan cheese, almonds, and lemon pepper to create a healthy and delicious basil pesto. Easy to make, this basil pesto is perfect on toast, with pasta, or as a dip.
Author:
Recipe type: Dips/Sauces
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: ½ cup of pesto
Ingredients
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
  • ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil (or olive oil)
  • ¼ cup grated parmesan
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
  • ⅛ cup almond slivers (or pine nuts or walnuts), more to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon lemon pepper
Directions:
  1. Blend all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until the consistency is to your liking.
  2. Serve the fresh basil pesto with bread or pasta.

 

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