Friday, June 25, 2010

Homemade fresh pesto

My family loves pesto. In the past, I've bought the Kirkland brand of pesto from Costco, which was pretty good and decent in price. This summer, I've decided to make my own pesto from the basil from my garden. My husband's co-worker sent me this recipe, which I was hesitant to try at first because it contained heavy cream, but oh my ... it's really good.

I served this on toasted cibatta bread with grilled chicken, mozzarella, paremesan and fresh lettuce. Later in the week, I made some quinoa and used the leftover pesto as a sauce. It was fantastic!

Fresh Pesto

4 cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 to 1/3 cup of toasted pine nuts
3 cloves fresh garlic
1/4 to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (add more if your pesto is too dry)
1 hot pepper (optional)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Put everything in a food processor and mix until you have a sauce thickness to your liking. Pour sauce into saucepan and heat until it's warmed through. While the sauce is heating, whip the heavy cream. Add 1 to 4 tablespoons of the cream to the sauce, depending on your taste (I used about 2 tablespoons). The sauce should remain somewhat thick.

Add to your favorite al dente pasta, toasted cibatta bread sandwiches, quinoa. Another great dish with pesto is cooked penne pasta, and lightly steamed veggies like broccoli, asparagus, shallots, carrots ... and whatever other favorite veggies you have on hand. Enjoy!

1 comment:

Mary Voogt said...

The new blog looks great! I'll be making pesto next week. But I need to soak/dry some nuts first. Can't wait to make my first batch of pesto for the season with my own basil :)