Organic Pesto Sauce
Organic Pesto Sauce
Pesto sauce is so versatile. You can have it with pasta, of course, but it can be used to flavor so many more dishes. Add it to eggs, or chicken or even hummus. A tablespoon or 2 in any of those dishes will amplify the flavor. Store bought pesto confuses me - well not really. I'm sure there are preservatives in it which is how it maintains its verdant color. Homemade pesto doesn't last as long. The basil leaves will start to oxidize. It's great if you use it immediately, however if you want to store in the fridge, you can, just add a thin layer of good, high quality olive oil on the surface of the pesto after it's made. It will last in the fridge for up to 5 days that way. Anyway, for this recipe the basil, lemons, nuts and olive oil are all organic. Yes, it matters. All of those ingredients are susceptible to high amounts of pesticides. Also, we're using the zest of the lemons. The zest has the lemon's oils which adds a lot of flavor. If you can't find (or want to spend the money on) pine nuts, cashews are a great substitution. If you want to make this vegan, sub 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast for the parmesan cheese. On that note, buy a block of parmesan cheese and grate it yourself. Yes, you'll taste the difference. That's what makes this "just right."
Equipment
- food processor
- toaster oven
Ingredients
- 2 cups organic basil
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup organic pine nuts or cashews toasted
- 1 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 2 lemons 2 zested first, 1 1/2 juiced
- 1/3 cup organic olive oil
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt Diamond Crystal https://amzn.to/3ZRuGXG **
- 1/8 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Toast the nuts for 3-4 minutes. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn.
- In the bowl of the food processor, add the garlic and pulse until it's chopped up. Add the toasted pine nuts or cashews. Pulse until that's chopped up as well. You want it to be very fine gravel. Add the basil, lemon zest (from both lemons) and juice, (from 1 1/2 lemons), parmesan cheese, kosher salt, and a few grinds of fresh cracked black pepper. Process on low until it's cohesive. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and pulse a bit more to combine. With the processor on low, in a steady stream, add the olive oil until it's combined. Taste to see if it needs additional parmesan cheese, lemon juice, salt or pepper.
Notes
This is great with pasta (of course). I like to place the pesto in a large serving bowl and then add the hot pasta with 1/2 cup of pasta water. Mix to combine.  The pesto shouldn't be cooked in a skillet. Â
** Amazon Affiliate - I may receive compensation.Â
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