Pesto!

I have a lot of basil. If this wasn't enough...

I have this...

And isn't this lovely???

I've been waiting and waiting to use it. Seeing howI have so much I shouldn't be waiting at all, but I've been rationing it, afraid it would run out. It's silly, but true! In the last week, however, it started to flower. I had no choice but to bust out the food processor and get to work!

My mother in law has an excess of spinach in her garden so we were thinking that next time I make some pesto I'll add 2-4 cups of spinach in. It will make it that much healthier and will still be delicious!

And don't be fooled into thinking that you have to use pine nuts. Almonds, peanuts and walnuts all work wonderfully! I'm a big fan of using walnuts!

Ingredients:

2 cups of basil leaves, packed

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cups nuts

2/3 cups oil (you can use slightly less)

1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I don't add the cheese and it's still wonderful!)

salt and pepper to taste

How to:

Pulse the basil, garlic and nuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add in the oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheese.

*If you don't want to use the pesto right away only add in about 1/2c of oil and don't add in the cheese. Once the pesto is processed put it in an air tight container and pour the rest of the oil over the top to prevent browning. When you're ready to use stir together and add the cheese.

*If you want to freeze the pesto add in all of the oil, but not the cheese. I pour the pesto in an ice cube tray and freeze then transfer to a freezer bag. It will keep up to 3 months in the freezer.

**Update! Tonight I made this with 1/2 cup olive oil, one clove of garlic and a handful of spinach (and kept the rest of the ingredients the same.) It was wonderful and this way I was able to sneak spinach into Mo's dinner!**