A bright, fresh taste that is missing in our store-bought favorite. Homemade pesto can’t be beat.

The combination of creamy pine nuts, salty parmesan cheese, bright and flavorful basil, spicy fresh garlic all combined to make a sauce that is simply magic. We douse our pasta in pesto, smear it on sandwiches, and swirl it into bread dough. We freeze big batches of basil when the leaves ripen in the summer and make fresh pesto all year long.

Homemade Pesto

Ingredients

• 2 cups packed basil leaves (or frozen equivalent)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place basil, parmesan, pine nuts, and garlic cloves in blender, food processor, or nut chopper attachment of a stick blender. Give the mixture a couple of blitzes to chop the basil leaves.
2. With the  machine running, drizzle olive oil into basil mixture.
3. When all is chopped and nicely blended, salt and pepper to taste.