Pesto – Walnut Style

I love making homemade pesto when my garden produces a bumper croup of basil. I have made traditional pesto with pine nuts and have experimented with using a variety of other nuts to create my sauce. I have also experimented with creating pesto sauce with a variety of greens like carrot greens and arugula. Playing with food and testing recipes is something I enjoy.

This recipe for BASIL Pesto is made with WALNUTS instead of pine nuts. Recently the bulk walnuts have been on sale at the local grocer and I have been purchasing quite a bit of them. I try to take advantage of sales on foods I enjoy and find recipes to use those products when they are plentiful in the store. I try to shop economically, while also shopping to find the products that are organic and/or local.

Textures are important to me when I eat. If textures of sauces determine whether you eat them or not, consider the following: a thicker pesto is made by adding more basil and/or reducing the oil and, conversely, a thinner pesto is a result of less basil or more oil, or both.

Base Ingredients:
Basil – 3 cups rinsed and patted into a measuring cup
Garlic – 5 pieces
Cheese (Italian Blend, Parmesan, or Pecorino Romano) – 1 cup
Nuts (pine nuts, walnuts, or cashews) 1/ 2 cup
Olive Oil – 1 cup

Increase your recipe as needed based upon the volume of basil you are using. For the pictured recipe, I had 6 cups of basil from my garden!

Instructions:
Add ingredients to ingredients to a VItamix, food processor, or blender. Blend until a thick liquid is formed.
Store pesto in an airtight container in the refrigerator…it will keep up to three months.