Basil Pesto

Ingredients
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts (I used pine nuts)
2 medium sized garlic cloves, minced (if you really like garlic, use 3)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Special Equipment Needed: food processor

Directions

1. Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) 
2. Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
3. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on (my food processor doesn't do this, so I just added a little at a time and it worked out just fine). 
4. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. 
5. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
6. Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.

Makes: 1 cup pesto

Emily's Thoughts

When I made this, I used a whole box of spaghetti noodles to mix with the pesto. This was a tad too much spaghetti for the amount of pesto, so I would recommend cutting down on the pasta just a little. I also had some leftover chicken and tomato so I cut up both and added them to the pasta. Lastly, I sprinkled on some parmesan. This was an easy and delicious dinner! 

If you're just cooking for yourself, you can also freeze some of your pesto. From all of the recipes I looked at, you shouldn't add the cheese if you plan on freezing the pesto because the cheese will not freeze well. You should add the cheese when you use it.

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes