Homemade Pesto...Presto!

I may be the only one on whom pesto has this effect, but when I hear "pesto" in the name or description of a food, I'm jumping up and down to try it.

Sundried tomato, feta and pesto pizza. Oh yeah.

Pesto pasta primavera with shrimp. Yes, please!

Garbanzo bean and potato soup with pesto. Hello, beautiful.

So, when I was planning out this recipe/food/grocery challenge, I chose a couple different recipes with pesto. Then, since I grow my own basil, decided I'd look for a recipe to make it from scratch. Before I share those recipes, I'm sharing this one.

You'll need:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 4 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

In my case, like I mentioned, I grow my own basil.

Meet Richard, my basil plant.

Poor, poor Richard. He looks so sad, doesn't he?

*Tear*

Moving on.

Here are the main ingredients. You already know what they are, so this picture is pointless, but I took it and I'd hate to see it go to waste. Please observe.

And wah-la! Pesto!

Oh, what? I didn't tell you how to get here? Sorry about that. Got a little excited about the final product. You know me and pesto...

Alright, alright.

1. Using your processor, pulse the basil, garlic and pine nuts (I would try to hand chop the pine nuts first if you can...my blender [read: NOT a food processor] was too big/the pine nuts were too small and we ended up with some whole pine nuts in the final product. It taste the same whole or not, but if you want it to look perfectly creamy, then chop these first.)
2. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on.
3. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. (I feel like this is obvious, but in case you really need the step-by-step, I'm including it.) ;)
4. Add the grated parmesan cheese and pulse again until blended.
5. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Store pesto in a jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to six months. You can keep it looking fresh and green by covering the top with a thin layer of olive oil or with a sheet of plastic wrap directly on its surface; this will keep it from oxidizing and turning brown (even if it darkens, it will still taste good!). You can freeze it by dropping tablespoon-fulls onto parchment paper, freezing it and storing in a zip lock back in the freezer.

NOW...we have the final product.

Excuse me, I think I just died and went to pesto heaven.

Printable version here!