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.
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. =)
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
How can you make your own?
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
Blend all of these ingredients together until the consistency is to your liking.
Serve the pesto with bread or pasta.
Enjoy!
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- 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
- Blend all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until the consistency is to your liking.
- Serve the fresh basil pesto with bread or pasta.
Any kind of pestos you can count on me….
Thanks =)
Ooh, can’t wait to try this out. How long do you think it would stay fresh for? Assuming we don’t eat it all right away!
It should be okay for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. If you want to keep it for longer, you can always freeze it =)
We are totally on the same wavelength, my friend. The changing seasons tell me that pesto would be an excellent idea 😉 guess I’ll be making some for my pasta tonight!
I hope you’ll like this pesto, Ala! I love that it’s fresh and easy to make. lol
One of my most favorite tastes of them all…
Thank you!
Interesting! I’ve only ever made it with pine nuts. Is there much of a taste difference?
Not really. It’s just a preference for specific nuts. =)
🙂
Ohh I bet the lemon pepper is good in the pesto! I use walnuts and love the taste that creates. I have a super yummy pasta recipe with pesto and shrimp, you just made me hungry for it!!!
Pesto and shrimp is always a great combo!
I have made pesto with other greens, such as Kale and wild Chickweed. Mustard greens makes a spicy pesto, and sometimes I mix greens. There seem to be few rules. Also, I use pesto in sandwiches instead of mayonnaise. It’s healthier.
I’ve had sandwiches where the spread is a mix of both pesto and mayo. You’re not using too much mayo so it’s not as fattening. Mixed with pesto it’s creamy with the taste of basil.
I love pesto! When I was in the Italian Riviera this summer (the birthplace of pesto!!), I had it with gnocchi and it practically changed my life!
I blogged about it here: http://classiccosmopolite.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/the-david-pisa-and-dinner-on-the-italian-riviera/
Thanks for the recipe!
Anyone looking for a different way to use pesto– put a bit in vegetable soup. Amazing!
The pesto gnocchi looks really good! Your entire trip looks amazing! So jealous! I’d love to go to Italy.
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You’re welcome!
Looks delicious!
Thanks!
You’re welcome! 🙂