Homemade pesto sauce is actually quite easy to make, and when fresh basil is in season, don't you just want to use it in everything?! The pesto can accompany multiple dishes to give it that extra zing of fresh flavor and goodness. An added bonus - you can store it in the freezer for up to a month, so you can keep it on hand as back-up for those last minute dinner decisions.
Ingredients:
1 pkg (0.75 ounces) Fresh Basil
1/8 cup Olive Oil
1/8 cup pine nuts
1/8 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Garlic Clove
1 Garlic Clove
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 small Food Processor
Directions:
Place the basil leaves and garlic clove into the food processor.
Toast the pine nuts over the stove top in a pan on medium heat. When toasting pine nuts, you do not need any oil. Pine nuts have their own natural oiliness that gives them that nice and toasty brown. Just be sure to continue to move them in the pan so they don't burn.
Add the toasted pine nuts to the food processor and pulse.
Add the Olive Oil to the food processor and pulse.
Add the Parmesan Cheese, Salt, and Pepper to the food processor. Give it one last pulse together, and there you have it!
Spread the pesto onto some bread, place it on a pizza, layer it in lasagna, or add it to some pasta. When adding the pesto to pasta, I like to reserve about 1/4 cup of the cooking water to blend it all together and get an extra creamy consistency.