I love Basil. I love pesto. I like it on so many things! And lucky for me, basil grows here in the desert like crazy! It survived our crazy hot summer and is thriving with just slightly lower temps! Not only is it surviving, but I have found at least 6 volunteer plants popping up. Volunteer – meaning – I didn’t plant them there and I don’t care! 🙂 As far as I’m concerned it can grow wherever it wants.

When you have an abundance of something like basil – you can use it in caprese, any kind of pasta, dry it and keep in jars or… make pesto!

It’s so easy to make. Let me warn you though.. if you don’t have a food processor – get one! You can do this in a blender if you chose, but you might not enjoy this process as much.

First things first – gather your basil and remove the stems and any flowers. Wash it and pat dry with paper towels. Drier the better!

In the large bowl, with your basic, large blade on your food processor – add 1 cup parmesan cheese (I used already shredded), about 1.5 cups of pine nuts, 3 garlic cloves and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. I keep lemon juice in baggies in the freezer – we have a lemon tree so every year I juice a bunch, pour into ice cube trays and save some of the wonderful juice for later! You can just squeeze in a lemon though. 🙂 Pulse together on high until everything is mixed together well and chopped finely.

Add your basil to the top of this mixture. Place the lid back on. Turn the processor on high and drizzle olive oil through the small food chute until it reaches the desired consistency. You may have to stop and stir a couple of times. I think it used about a cup, maybe a little less of olive oil. I like mine a little creamy so sometimes at this point, I also add about 1/4 cup of plain, non-fat yogurt. You can always mix some together separately to try first. It should look something like this when finished.

Lastly, I like to throw in a few seasonings – a dash of cayenne pepper and depending on how salty your cheese was, I have some chardonnay smoked sea salt that is pretty good in this. That’s it! Enjoy on flatbread, use as a pasta sauce, bake chicken with pesto on top or.. add to your BLT! Here’s an added tip for a fantastic BLT – use thick cut bacon and cook it on the grill 😉

This is also a great gift – I’ve found so many people love pesto and it’s easy to put in mason jars and give away.