Quick and Easy Basil Pesto
By: Kara Parnell
My kids say a lot of funny things, like when my 5-year-old announced, "fudge is my favourite vegetable!" My favourite kid quote to date has to be when my oldest daughter bought a beautiful bunch of fresh basil from our local farmer's market one Saturday afternoon and holding that intoxicatingly fragrant bundle in her hands, determined, "I'll take a bunch of basil over a bouquet of roses any day!"
Fresh herbs have a way of enhancing any dish, making something ordinary taste truly extraordinary. This pesto uses my all-time favourite herb, basil, as its foundation. Combined with some other wonderfully intense flavours, like the Parmesan cheese, and garlic, pesto is a powerhouse of authentic Italian flavours!
This pesto is delicious mixed with warm pasta, or drizzled over beautiful sliced tomatoes, with a pinch of salt and pepper, or as a marinade for chicken. It's so addictingly flavourful, I'll take in a spoon, straight from the food processor!
Servings: 4-6
Prep time: 00:10
Ingredients
- 2 C. fresh basil, firmly packed (any fresh greens you have. Can be a mix of coriander, spinach, kale, anything)
- 1/2 C. Walnuts, Brazil nuts, almonds, pine nuts or a mix of all.
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (or 1 C. Parmesan Cheese for non-vegans)
- 2 garlic cloves
- salt to taste
- 1/2 C. olive oil
- Add a dash of water if need be and extra nutritional yeast to give it a more cheesy flavour
Instructions
- Add the basil, nuts, Parmesan, garlic and salt to a food processor, and pulse until ingredients are well combined and form a paste, scraping sides of the bowl as needed.
- Turn the processor on low, and slowly drizzle in olive oil until combined.
