Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Basil Pesto Pasta



I've been dying to have a basil garden again. So after a long wait, we were finally able to plant some basil before the winter season started a couple of months ago. We also have parsley, Thai basil and oregano. Alas, because hubby's been busy with school, I haven't had time to care for my herb garden and haven't kept up with watering them. We've had a few good days of rain during these 2 months. Unfortunately, it isn't enough as the basil started withering. So before they become completely useless, I decided to hurry it up and find a way to use up all that basil.

I've never had pesto before but have been wanting to make it for a while, ever since I started growing herbs a few years back. But I never got around to it. I've seen it being made on TV and thought how easy it was. I found this pesto recipe and decided to make it for dinner tonight. It obviously goes great with pasta, but I could see this being used to dip a good crusty italian bread or used as a marinade. It smells insanely good. If you're not a huge garlic person, you can probably cut the garlic to only 1 clove. I also added a little salt and pepper to put a more flavor to it. This recipe received a "thumbs up" from hubby.

2 cups fresh basil
2 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1) Place basil, garlic, walnuts and parmesan cheese in a food processor. Turn on machine and slowly pour in olive oil while machine is running. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with your favorite pasta.


1 comment:

Janice Marie said...

Hey cuz, I love pesto! If there is pesto on the menu anywhere, that would be my first choice! I'm glad you like Basil too!