Do you have any recipes that you can make by memory? I have short list and pesto is one of them. I love pesto in a MAJOR way. It is SO GOOD. It has the sharpness of the parmesan and the bite of the garlic with the creamy texture… I am sold! This is amazing on a crusty baguette with fresh buffalo mozzarella and vine ripened tomatoes. On toast with poached eggs for breakfast. Of course on pasta – any kind. Sometimes I just put some on a slice of fresh buffalo mozzarella as a snack.

I had a friend I was going to be seeing over the weekend and I found out she was going through a tough moment and decided to whip her up a batch of freshly made pesto. I know she loves this stuff when a long time ago we were eating lunch and she reached over to dab some pesto I had made on her burrito. Yes, I said burrito. And she loved it, she was hooked on the stuff.

Here is a recipe but honestly it comes out a little differently each time. I tend to only do one garlic clove especially if it is going to hang in the refrigerator for a day or two (if it lasts that long) because the garlic only gets stronger over time. If you want to substitute walnuts instead of pine nuts you can. I never had because I love this recipe so much I am always in doubt it will be as good. But one of these days I will try it.

2 + 1/2 cups of fresh basil (I get mine from Trader Joe’s, it come’s in that big plastic container)

1/3 cup of pine nuts

1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

1 garlic clove

juice of half a lemon

Salt + Pepper

1/2 cup of olive oil

Put everything in a food processor and S-L-O-W-L-Y drizzle the olive oil in to emulsify. I usually put run it on high until the texture looks smooth. If it is too dry I add a little more olive oil, if it needs a little more punch I add more parmesan. I don’t like my pesto to be too runny either, I like it to be smooth and thick texture.

Now you have yourself some homemade pesto! You will never buy the store made stuff again… Plus, these would make great take away gifts at a lunch get together or a dinner party! Enjoy!

Here she is in all her glory. Just made some store bought pasta and mixed it with a couple tablespoons of pesto and a little extra sprinkling of parmesan cheese  –  T H E   B E S T!