Making pesto at home might quite possibly be the simplest DIY kitchen activity like, ever. This is a late realization however, since I’d found a good, organic variant in the shops and I was happy with it. I had an abundance of basil in my garden last week, and I realized that every time this happened in the past, I’d end up cutting the stalks and propagating some more, and then I’d have an abundance of it again. What do you do with so much basil? Hashtag first world problems.
Pesto was on the cards. Honestly, nothing else came to mind. I would have used pine nuts if I had some on hand, but I had recently read about using almonds instead for a creamier consistency. It delivered. No blanching or skinning required; just blend it all together, and you have your aromatic fresh pesto ready in minutes!
You may notice that this pesto is slightly thicker than what you’d find/make normally, and that was on purpose – I had my heart set on using it to roast baby potatoes with, and hence wanted it to be thick enough for the dressing to stick. If you want to make it as a pasta sauce or to slather on meats, just add a bit more olive oil until you get the right consistency. Yummo!
- 80 grams basil leaves
- 60 grams almonds (I left the skins on)
- 50 grams grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- Coarse salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Combine the basil, almonds, garlic, Parmesan and salt in a blender/food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.
- Add the oil and pulse again until fully incorporated and smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Yummy !! exactly what I needed today.. 🙂
I’m glad I was of some help there, Nags 🙂