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There’s something so satisfying about a big bowl of pesto. There’s so much you can do with it, add pasta to make pesto pasta, slather on a toast to make a pesto sandwich, or just dip in crackers to enjoy as an afternoon snack. Homemade pesto is infinitely tastier than any store-bought variety.
While pesto might seem fancy or gourmet, homemade pesto is super easy to make in your food processor or blender. Traditional pesto is however made in a mortar and pestle but it’s time-consuming, so we suggest sticking with a food processor.
You’ll Need
1/3 cup of pine nuts or walnuts or cashews
2 cups of basil
1/4 cup of cheese (parmesan or any other variety)
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp of lemon juice
1/2 cup of virgin oil
1/2 tsp of salt
Instructions
In a pan, toast the nuts till the kitchen becomes fragrant. Then, allow the nuts to cool.
Add the cheese, nuts, and garlic to a food processor. We recommend adding the basil towards the end, this way the herbs will maintain their beautiful colour without bruising or losing much flavour.
Blend while slowly drizzling the oil. Start with little drops and then stream. The oil helps to form an emulsion and binds the cheese, nuts, and basil.
Before adding in other flavourings, check the taste.
Cheese is very salty so depending on the variety, add in your salt and pepper.
Fold in your lemon juice, salt, and pepper off the blender.
You can store this in the fridge for a week and in the freezer for two months.
Pro Tip- For a twist, try adding your favourite herbs to it like coriander, mint, or parsley, and spice it up with some cayenne, ground ginger, or paprika, or a dash of your favourite hot sauce.
