Traditional Basil Pesto

 

basil pesto

If you grow basil in your garden, at some point in the summer you’ve got way more than you can eat in salads or on sandwiches or even steeped into tea. That’s when you know it’s time to make pesto. I made three pestos on my local TV mid-day show, Daytime Blue Ridge. For a step-by-step how-to, you can watch the segment here.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
  • 2 cups packed basil leaves
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Instructions

  1. Place walnuts, garlic and sea salt into the food processor. Pulse for a few minutes.
  2. Add basil. Process until your ingredients become a thick paste. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  3. With the processor running, pour olive oil through the feeding tube. 
  4. Add Parmesan and pulse until all ingredients are mixed together well.
  5. Serve over hot pasta or spread on homemade pizza crust or atop crusty bread as a sandwich condiment.