Easy Peasy Pesto
When I think about pesto, I am reminded of my mom’s basil plants that overtook our garden in the summer months. Basil was a constant herb available in our house growing up, whether it was freshly chopped and sprinkled on tomatoes with feta, mixed up into pesto or dried so that it would make it through the winter.
Thinking back to my mom making homemade pesto, the entire operation definitely intimidated me. But thankfully, I recently realized that was because we had the smallest and oldest food processor inhabiting the back of our kitchen cupboards.
Luckily, my appliances have received an upgrade and now pesto is going to be a staple in my own home (still miss you making it for me, Mom).
I also revamped the ingredients because who really wants to spend $15 on a handful of pine nuts? (Okay, I would love to but I’ll save that for when I win the lottery). Low and behold, the inexpensive and Easy Peasy Pesto.
Easy Peasy Pesto
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Place the basil, parmesan cheese, pumpkin seeds, garlic and salt in a food processor or blender. Add half of the olive oil and allow the machine to combine the ingredients.
- Slowly add the remaining olive oil while the food processor is running.
- Pause to scrape down the sides of the bowl or blender and then process once more. Adjust the taste to your liking (add more cheese to make it creamier, salt to cut the bitterness of the basil or oil to thin out the pesto).
- Keep in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week and/or store some in an ice cube tray in the freezer! (This way you can have individual portions ready to go).
- Serve over pasta, pizza, sandwiches, grilled vegetables or salad. Enjoy!