I have had quite a bumper crop of basil this year. The weather was getting pretty cold so I decided to harvest it in case we drop down to freezing one night.
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- 4 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 oz cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 package of pine nuts (toasted)
- 3 medium sized garlic cloves
- Salt pepper to taste
I only have a hand crank processor (and it was being a jerk). I tried the blender but it didn't really like Pesto (picky-picky). So the hand-crank worked best.
Run basil and pine nuts through first, then add garlic. You are supposed to drizzle the olive oil in while the processor is going. However, I am not an octopus so I just dumped it in. Don't freak out. It worked just fine.
Then add cheese, salt, and pepper. "Go easy on the salt," says the now experienced Pesto-Maker. The Parmesan cheese is already pretty salty.
My precious children bought me those Ferrero Rochet candies for my birthday. A delightful sized container. The tray that held the candies is perfect for making Pesto Cubes.
So now I can go from this:
To this:
Easy peasy.
