Basil pesto sauce
My favorite use of basil is in pesto sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves
- 3/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/4 pine nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Add all above ingredients into food processor or blender.
- Cover and blend on medium speed for approximately three minutes, pausing for a moment to scrape the sides. Blend until pesto mixture is very smooth.
- Now this healthy recipe is ready to serve, on a bed of whole wheat tossed hot pasta. If this isn’t pure joy, what is?
- Recipe of pesto sauce yields approximately 1 1/3 cups and serves 4 people. Enjoy!
Notes
PS: To make Cilantro Pesto - substitute 1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro leaves and 1/2 cup fresh parsley for the basil.
To make Spinach Winter Pesto, substitute with 2 cups firmly packed fresh spinach and 1/2 cup firmly packed fresh or 1/2 cup dried basil leaves for the fresh basil.
To make Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, use food processor and omit the basil. Take down the oil to 1/3 cup and add 1/2 cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes (undrained).
These are all healthy herbal sauces and SBcanning recommends them all to serve over whole wheat noodles and pasta.
To make Spinach Winter Pesto, substitute with 2 cups firmly packed fresh spinach and 1/2 cup firmly packed fresh or 1/2 cup dried basil leaves for the fresh basil.
To make Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, use food processor and omit the basil. Take down the oil to 1/3 cup and add 1/2 cup oil packed sun-dried tomatoes (undrained).
These are all healthy herbal sauces and SBcanning recommends them all to serve over whole wheat noodles and pasta.