There are so many uses to pesto. You can add it naturally to pasta as the main source or for added flavors in a tomato sauce, but also to salad dressings, for sauce bases for chicken, or meat, fish, or seafood, to rice, to bread, and often in soups for added Mediterranean flavors. The uses are endless! It is so much better than store-bought! Best of all is that it takes only a few minutes to make.
Makes 1 to ¼ cups of fresh pesto
Ingredients
- 2 packed cups fresh basil leaves
- 3-4 tablespoons pine nut (you can roast them before for added flavor)
- 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ⅓ or more extra virgin olive oil
Directions
- Add the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and parmesan cheese to a blender or food processor.
- Start processing and slowly pour the extra-virgin olive oil until I get the consistency you like. Blend until smooth.
- Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
- Store in an airtight glass container such as a Mason jar. It will keep fresh up to 14 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the pesto in ice cube trays and place in the freezer. When frozen, transfer to a Ziplock bag. It will stay fresh for 3-4 months.
If you would like to grow your own herbs indoor. I strongly recommend the Aerogarden products. I got one over the holidays and it’s brilliant! After only 25 days, it looked like this:
To check out this incredible planter, Click here to learn more
It comes with 6 pods of different herbs: Thai and Genovese basils, dill, flat-leaf parsley, thyme, and oregano. There is also a bottle of liquid nutrients you add to the water every 14 days. It was very easy to install and the instructions are quite clear. It took only a few minutes to get it going. The Aerogarden planter tells you when it’s time to add the nutrients or more water and you can adjust the height of the lamp. The LED lights automatically open and close at specific times to allows plants to maximize photosynthesis, resulting in rapid, natural growth and abundant harvests. How easy is that!
Have you seen the size of the basil leaves after only 25 days! It had enough basil leaves to make the recipe!
If you would like to check out a larger size, I really like this one as it can be part of your décor and it looks great. And of course, it’s more expansive as can double-up as a side table.
To read all about the Mediterranean diet and Madison’s Miller collection of Effortless Mediterranean cookbooks, just click here or just check out these four cookbooks. To learn more, just click on the links below.
To learn more, just click on the links below
Effortless Mediterranean Diet for Beginners Quick Start
Effortless Mediterranean Diet Cookbook Slow Cooker
Effortless Mediterranean Diet Cookbook Instant Pot
Happy cooking and planting!