Homemade Basil Pesto

There is nothing really better than fresh pesto in the summer. If you have basil growing in your garden, or access to a local farmers market, or even just from the grocery store- you should make some pesto. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a blender or a mortar and pestle. When making this, salt the pesto at the very end so that you don’t over-salt. Also, use quality cheese like parmigiano reggiano- that really makes the pesto pop! The parmigiano reggiano gives the pesto a great depth of flavor, and also adds a decent amount of salt, which is why you only want to salt to taste. If you don’t have pine nuts, you can substitute with toasted walnuts

Ingredients

4-5 cups basil
6 large garlic cloves
2/3 cup pine nuts
1.5 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1 cup olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions
Add basil, garlic, pine nuts, & parmigiano reggiano to food processor and pulse several times to mix and then mix continuously. Slowly add olive oil in a steady stream while mixing- stop to scrape sides down and continue mixing until pesto is smooth.
Salt & pepper to taste