Basil Pesto

Would you believe that I didn't really know what pesto was until my post-college years?  Yeah, pretty crazy.

The recipe that changed everything

Rob and I hadn't been married that long, and I was just beginning to get into my crazed I-need-to-try-a-new-recipe-practically-everyday kick.  So there was this baked pasta dish that just looked amazing and oh-so-simple.  Yet the key ingredient was this foreign concoction called Pesto.  I scoured the grocery store looking for it, and when I eventually found it, was horrified to see a half inch worth of oil at the top of the jar.  Did this mean that Pesto was an oily ingredient??  Ack!  You may recall that excessive amounts of oil and I do not get along.

Beautiful leafy basil

I went ahead and bought the oily jar as it was the only one I could find and I really wanted to make that recipe.  The dish was meh...ok, but I was too scared to eat very much of it because of all that oil in the pesto.  I decided that maybe Pesto wasn't all it was cracked up to be because with that much oil in it, I certainly wouldn't be eating very much of it.

Until I found this recipe.  Oh my dear graciousness.  THIS is what Pesto is all about!

Basil Pesto
Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger

1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 garlic clove
3 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup EVOO
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1.  In a small dry skillet, toast the walnuts until fragrant.  Add to a food processor along with the garlic.  Pulse until finely chopped.

Make sure these are finely chopped BEFORE adding the rest. Trust me.

2.  Add the basil, Parmesan, and lemon juice.  Process until very finely minced.  With the machine running, slowly pour the oil in a steady stream through the feed tube and process until well blended.  Season with salt and pepper.

I could drink this with a straw.  Is that weird?  Oh well!

You can use it immediately, store it in a container to work with later, or do what I do.  I fill an ice cube tray with it and freeze it.  Each cube is roughly 1 tablespoon and I use it all winter long in a variety of dishes.

One recipe fills about half a tray

This pesto is AH-MAY-ZING!!  Not too oily, it has a super bright flavor with the basil and lemon juice, but mellows out as you eat it with this rich, nutty background from the walnuts.  Finally, I can have all the benefits, all the wonderful flavor, of Pesto without making my stomach obscenely angry with me.