Pesto is one of my favorite go-to ingredients when I want an easy and delicious meal; but it wasn't until I moved to Uganda and went a couple of years without it, that I realized how it easy it is to make from scratch. My garden is shady, so leafy greens are the best things to grow, and pesto is also a great way to use the my herbs. I often make a double or triple batch and then freeze what I don't immediately need. Pairing basil pesto with my home-made sun-dried tomatoes never disappoints.
Basil pesto is certainly the most common, but you can make pesto from any variety of herbs or leafy greens. Last year I had a huge amount of arugula in my garden, so I used it to make arugula pesto.
Here is the recipe I use, which can easily be adapted.
Ingredients:
About 1 cup of packed basil/arugula/cilantro/kale/whatever you want
1/2 cup of pine nuts (walnuts are a great substitute)
1/2 cup of olive oil
3 cloves of minced garlic (but I like to use more)
1/4 tsp of pepper flakes (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Blend all your ingredients except the olive oil until they are ground together in a thick paste
2. Slowly start adding the olive oil and continue to blend.
3. Add salt, pepper, and pepper flakes to taste.
4. Pour into a container to serve or store. If you're not using it within a couple of days, pour your pesto into freezer bags to freeze and use for later.
Here are a few other recipes to use with pesto:
Turkey, pesto, onion, cheese, and poppyseed sliders
Pesto and cheese stuffed chicken
Roasted garlic chicken pesto pizza
Pesto ranch crock pot chicken thighs
Ingredients:
About 1 cup of packed basil/arugula/cilantro/kale/what you want
1/2 cup of pine nuts (walnuts are a great substitute)
1/2 cup of olive oil
3 cloves of minced garlic (but I like to use more)
1/4 tsp of pepper flakes (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Blend all your ingredients except the olive oil until they are ground together in a thick paste
2. Slowly start adding the olive oil and continue to blend.
3. Add salt, pepper, and pepper flakes to taste.
4. Pour into a container to serve or store. If you're not using it within a couple of days, pour your pesto into freezer bags to freeze and use for later.