Homemade Pesto isn’t difficult to make. Pesto is served in many restaurants, and is often one of the most popular sauces served in a restaurant. Now, you don’t have to buy expensive pesto sauce, you can make pesto at home, it is easy to do, and it tastes so much better than pesto sauce that you can purchase. I feel upon this recipe by accident, many pesto sauces use extra virgin olive oil, but the night I made this dish, I ran out, and I was in a bind with company on the way. So I prepared this pesto was made with less expensive vegetable oil.

Homemade Pesto

Most of the time I have a small container garden of fresh herbs, this year I have been fortunate to have an abundant crop of basil. I found the perfect place in my yard to place my basil containers, not too much sun, but just enough to yield abundant basil. I have been busy drying basil, and making pesto.
Yield: approximately 3/4 cups.

1 cup fresh basil tightly packed
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup vegetable oil (you can use traditional extra virgin olive oil)
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Wash basil leaves and pat dry. In a food processor with a steel blade add garlic, pine nuts, salt, and pulse several times to chop ingredients into a fine paste, add basil leaves and salt. With the food processor running constantly drizzle in olive oil, and Parmesan cheese, and combine well. If you do not use the pesto immediately, store in an air tight container, but before sealing the container, pour a little extra oil over the top of the pesto so the air will not get to the pesto.

Many people freeze pesto in ice cube trays and dethaw whenever they are ready to use it. I like to serve my pesto in pasta, and as a replacement for butter on bread. Pesto is easy to make, and you can use other nuts than just pinenuts. Pesto made with pecans is wonderful, so be experimental when making your own homemade pesto recipe.

Pesto Pasta

Recipe as pictured
2 cups dry pasta
3 tablespoons prepared pesto

Cook pasta according to package directions when finished, drain. Stir in pesto, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese when ready to serve.