Basil at Its Finest

The first batch of basil pesto went into jars this afternoon.  Oh, so good!

I use a recipe I kind of made up.  It's good for basil, red peppers, a combination all sorts of herbs, whatever you want to do.  For pesto right now I use my blender, but a food processor would allow for larger batches.  As is this recipe fills my blender, then I rinse it out and do another few rounds of this--food processor is on my wish list.

Basil Pesto
2 c. fresh basil
1/3 c. pine nuts
1 tbs. lemon juice
1/2 c. olive oil
2 to 3 garlic gloves, chopped
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
pepper and salt to taste
{I have gotten into the habit of adding just the smallest pinch imaginable of ground red pepper to this in addition to the black pepper and salt}

Combine basil, pine nuts, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic in a blender or food processor and pulse until almost pureed.  Add Parmesan and pulse to combine but not puree.  Add salt and pepper and pulse to blend.

Pour into a pint jar and add just enough olive oil on top to cover the pesto.  I like to put another covering of olive oil on top every so often to keep things nice and fresh tasting.  Refrigerate pesto between uses.  Pesto can be frozen too.  It cannot be processed.

*When using my blender I put in 1/2 of the basil with the other ingredients and puree, then add the other half to make sure it purees well.

And there is plenty more basil out back among my overgrown herb paradise.