Ingredients
Scale
- 3 cups fresh basil leaves, removed from stems
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 2–3 cloves of garlic
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese (try to use high quality fresh cheese rather than the stuff in the shaker)
- ¼ tsp salt + some on hand to adjust taste
- pinch of ground black pepper
- ¼ cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
- Splash of lemon juice (I use about ½ a lemon)
Instructions
- Into a food processor place all ingredients except for the oil.
- Pulse ingredients on low until everything is starting to get the proper consistency.
- Now, slowly pour in the olive oil. It’s important that this is down slowly since olive oil can become bitter and emulsify if processed too quickly.
- Once processed remove from the processor and put into a storage container such as a jar.
- Add a splash of lemon juice and stir.
- Do a taste test and add a little more salt and pepper if needed.
- This should keep in the fridge for about a week but you can also put it in the freezer and it should be good for a couple months.
Notes
Make sure that you taste test your pesto. Sometimes depending on the leaves used there can be a slight bitter taste. Also if olive oil is processed too vigorously it can also lend to a slight bitterness. You can fix this by adding a bit more salt and lemon juice.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: Italian
