Pesto
2 Tbsp. pine nuts (or walnuts)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
Coarse kosher salt and freshly
ground pepper to taste
1¼ cups fresh basil leaves
2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated
2 oz. Pecorino or Romano cheese,
grated
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
(minus 2 Tbsp.)
- Place pine nuts, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, and the cheeses in the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse to chop the basil.
- With the machine running, add the oil gradually and process until creamy and smooth.
I usually double (or triple) this
recipe. Then, using ice cube trays, I fill each opening with pesto, freeze it
solid, food-saver each individual frozen cube, and use the pesto as I wish from
the thawed pesto cubes. This way you can have fresh homemade pesto well into
the winter. I use pesto not only in pasta dishes, but also as a base sauce for pizza when I want something different than a tomato sauce base.
