Nothing tastes as fresh as homemade pesto. It is surprisingly easy to make and really blows the store-bought stuff out of the water. With a whopping 5 ingredients (plus salt and pepper), pesto is definitely something you need to try to make if you haven’t already! I made this to go with my gnocchi that I made for a food swap.
Ingredients (makes about 1 cup):
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup walnuts
3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Add the basil leaves and walnuts to a food processor.
Pulse a few times to combine.
Mince your garlic.
Add to the food processor.
Pulse to combine.
While the food processor is running, add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream.
Add the Parmesan cheese and pulse to combine.
Season with salt and pepper.
You can add more of whichever ingredient you think you need more of at any time. I prefer my pesto to be relatively firm, so I don’t use a lot of olive oil to make mine. I also tend to add more cheese on top of my pasta anyways, so I limit the amount of cheese I put into the pesto. You can also use pine nuts instead of walnuts; I just prefer walnuts.
Be sure to use high quality ingredients for this recipe if you can. Because none of it is cooked, you want basil when it is fresh, high quality olive oil with a smooth taste, and a nicely aged cheese. A little pesto goes a long way when used as a topping on pasta, so this recipe can luckily be frozen to use at a later date as well!
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So yummy. Great recipe and great photos. I bought a basil plant this year and the squirrels made off with the thing. I should have been mad but it was just so funny.
Yay! Pesto! Is that what’s going on your gnocchi? I hope tomorrow tells….
Fresh is the best way to do it! Great job! Love the photos too! Thanks for sharing =]
I love pesto. Great recipe.
Its one of those receipes that can stand a lot of alterations too – really you just need a green (basil, arugula, fresh spinach), a cheese, and a nut – I just made some with almonds, because pine nuts were so expensive and it was just as yummy.
I love fresh pesto like this! Yours looks perfect!!
Great pesto – live the use of walnuts in there!