Basil Pesto

One of my favorite things to cook with is Pesto! I use it to spice up pasta, and our daily lunch menu, whether it is quesadillas or a grilled cheese sandwiches...pesto makes everything better :). One of my latest cooking goals is to learn to make and cook with more homemade pesto.

The photo shows a basic basil pesto from cooking blog, Salt and Pepper. Here is the recipe:

Young basil leaves - 1 cup packed.
Garlic- 2 cloves
Pine nuts - 2 tbsp
Parmesan cheese freshly grated- 1/4 cup
Good quality extra virgin olive oil- 2 tbsp

For mincing, you will need a sharp mezzaluna, but I replaced it with a

crinkle cutter.

There is only one step. Mince till you get a fine mince of the ingredients. Heidi recommends starting with the garlic and 1/3 rd basil. Keep adding the ingredients in parts till everything is minced. Start with garlic, then basil, followed by pine nuts and cheese.

Once mincing is done, transfer the pesto into a bowl and add the olive oil.
At this point I kept it in the refrigerator.

For a very similar recipe that i found in a new favorite resource, The Herb Bible, by Jennie Harding:

scant 3/4 c fresh basil leaves, bruised

3 garlic cloves, crushed

6 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1/4 c grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1 tbs pine nuts

Place all ingredients in a blender and whizz up to a fine puree. (you could also use your food processor)