And Dena discovers pesto

After all these years of questioning the taste of green things, I think overall I've found that most green things are pretty palatable with just a few exceptions. My friend Carrie questions my sanity in not liking guacamole but that has less to do with color than consistency. Mostly green is good. And perhaps now that I've tried pesto and found out that I was missing something so AWESOME for so long, I'll be more adventurous with my tastebuds.







My sister Carrie, has asked that I post my recent discovery here so she can give it a whirl too. Credit for this very Italian looking recipe with imprecise measurements and "a bit of this or that" references goes to my boss who IS very Italian and LOVES to cook even though she has three kids and I can't even get my head around that.... :)



"O.k., here is what I do… I fill my food processor about halfway with the basil leaves (when I do not have enough basil, I throw in some fresh Italian parsley to supplement). Traditional basil pesto uses pine nuts (aka pinoli (sp?) nuts). Pine nuts are rather expensive so I substitute with almonds or pretty much any nut that I have on hand. I toast the nuts on the stovetop just until I begin to smell them toasting (if you ever toasted nuts then you know what I mean).

To the basil, I add the nuts, about 2 handfuls of freshly grated parmesan cheese, a couple of small cloves of garlic (the garlic thing is a personal preference, some people add more than me but I just like a hint of garlic) and just a pinch of salt. I pulse my food processor for a minute or so to grind everything together and then I slowly drizzle in olive oil while running the food processor. My best guess is that I add about ¼ to ½ cup of olive oil when using the large food processor. Basically, you want to add enough oil to bring the pesto to the consistency of peanut butter (maybe a little looser).

Sorry for the lengthy instructions. The whole process only takes a few minutes."


I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT. On salmon, on tuna melts, on salad, on vegetables, on bread. It's good and I have enough fresh basil to keep the good feeling going!!

So good luck to you!