Basil Pesto with Pine Nuts
On December 17, 2014 by Meghalee Das
Today’s guest post is Basil Pesto written by my friend Robin Mitchell. Although mostly used as a sauce, pesto can be served as a condiment and has such fresh, aromatic flavors.
Robin is a graduate nursing student at UT Austin and is one of the healthiest and motivated people I know. She and A ran the Austin Marathon in 2014 and I know she will run many more. In her blog http://r0bbbbinn.tumblr.com/ she records her fitness routines and workout experiences. And she is great with kids, so if you live in the Austin, TX area, you can visit her Facebook page to know about her babysitting services facebook.com/robins512babysitting. (She is the same R that I often mention in my blog and for whose birthday I had baked the Chocolate Chiffon Cake!). My spring garden had some lime basil and Italian basil, which she has used for this recipe along with some store bought ones. The fresher the herbs, the better will be your pesto. Do try this, it’s easy and delicious!
Over to you Robin!
Basil pesto is a light and healthy snack especially during the summer seasons. The strong taste of basil and garlic are complemented with the light tastes of olive oil and pine nuts. This snack takes minimal preparation and has a variety of uses such as a spread on crackers and sandwiches or a sauce on pasta.
Ingredients:
Basil leaves: Approximately 1 cup (remove stems)
Pine nuts: 2 tbsp
Olive oil: 1 tbsp
Butter: 2 tbsp softened (or margarine for healthier alternative)
Parmesan cheese: 1 tbsp
Minced garlic: 1/2 tbsp or 2 garlic gloves
Pinch of salt
Method:
1) Remove stems from basil leaves. Stems will make the texture a bit tougher and chunkier.
2) Place basil leaves, pine nuts, olive oil, parmesan cheese and garlic into a food processor.
3) Stop processor and scrape the sides. Turn on processor again.
4) Remove mixture from the processor and stir in the butter.
5) Some of the uses for this basil pesto include being served on crackers, as a spread on sandwiches, or a sauce for pasta.
Tips:
– Basil will brown if not eaten within a few hours of making. If this happens, you can just scrape off the brown layer and eat the remaining.
– If you make a large quantity, this pesto can be frozen and won’t spoil. I recommend wrapping spoonfuls in plastic wrap before freezing.
- Basil leaves: Approximately 1 cup (remove stems)
- Pine nuts: 2 tbsp
- Olive oil: 1 tbsp
- Butter: 2 tbsp softened (or margarine for healthier alternative)
- Parmesan cheese: 1 tbsp
- Minced garlic: ½ tbsp or 2 garlic gloves
- Pinch of salt
- Remove stems from basil leaves. Stems will make the texture a bit tougher and chunkier.
- Place basil leaves, pine nuts, olive oil, parmesan cheese and garlic into a food processor.
- Stop processor and scrape the sides. Turn on processor again.
- Remove mixture from the processor and stir in the butter.
- Some of the uses for this basil pesto include being served on crackers, as a spread on sandwiches, or a sauce for pasta.
