A cooking question. Does anyone out there know how to make pesto,with fresh basil and olive oil?

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed


1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


1/2 cup Olive oil


3 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts


3 garlic cloves, finely minced





Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped (do about 3/4 cup at a time). Add about 1/3 the nuts and garlic, blend again.


Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese; blend while slowly adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, stopping to scrape down sides of container.


Process basil pesto it forms a thick smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used, mix all batches together well. Serve overA cooking question. Does anyone out there know how to make pesto,with fresh basil and olive oil?
I have made this....very tasty!!!





Broccoli Pesto %26amp; Fusilli Pasta Recipe





You can certainly add a handful of basil to this for more traditional flavor - you'd still get the added nutrion cook your broccoli in a skillet with a bit of salt, olive oil, and water. This way you won't lose as many nutrients in the cooking process - the boil and drain method takes more nutrients out of the final dish. I did the boil out of convenience this time around.





1 medium head of broccoli (about 3 cups), cut into very small florets


1/2 cup walnuts, toasted


1/3 cup Parmesan, freshly grated


1 clove of garlic


juice of 1/2 a lemon


1/4 teaspoon + fine grain sea salt


1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil


1/2 pound (8 ounces) dried whole wheat pasta (bite-sized - fusilli, penne, etc)


3 handfuls of spinach or chard, well chopped


handful of oily black olives, pitted





more Parmesan for serving





Bring two pots of water to a boil, one large, one medium. In the medium pot you'll cook the broccoli, the large can be used for the pasta.





To cook the broccoli, salt the boiling water and add the broccoli. Cook for just twelve seconds. Drain immediately and run cold water over the broccoli to stop the cooking. Reserve a few of the small broccoli trees and puree the rest in a food processor along with the walnuts, Parmesan, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Drizzle in the olive oil while still blending. Taste, adjust with more salt or lemon juice if needed and set aside.





To cook the pasta, salt the boiling water generously and add the pasta. Boil until just barely tender. Drain, transfer the hot pasta to a large bowl and stir in the spinach, it should wilt. Gently stir in about half of the pesto. Taste, add more pesto to your liking. Served topped with olives, the reserved broccoli florets, and a dusting of Parmesan cheese.A cooking question. Does anyone out there know how to make pesto,with fresh basil and olive oil?
I guess now days it is the food processor. The first time I had pasta con pesto was in 1958, no food processors back then. My family was from the plains states, Kansas, so it was meat and potatoes as I grew up. My girl friend back then was Italian and her mom was a great cook.


The pesto she made the Basil was chopped with a knife until finely chopped. it was mixed with olive oil cheese and finely chopped garlic, no nuts. Tossed with pasta was one of the greatest thing I had ever tasted in my life.


To me it seems that food processors take away the juice from the Basil and reduce the flavor. Try chopping it by hand.
OK, as much fresh basil, bigger stems picked out, as you can get, and blend it in the food processor with your extra virgin olive oil, couple TBSPs lemon juice, many clove garlic peeled, and pine nuts, and whip it. walnuts will work. pine nuts are best. when its just about smooth, add parmigian (sp?) or assagio cheese. wait a day if you can. yum