Pine Nut Pesto

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With this pine nut pesto you can have a little bit of Italy right in your own kitchen. Only 6 ingredients and 7 minutes is all you need for this tasty recipe.

I would say pesto is about as Italian as you can get. The word pesto translated in Italian basically means “to crush” or “to pound” which is what you are basically doing making this recipe.

What is pesto used for?

This list could get really long because there are so many things this pine nut pest goes great with, but just to name a few;

• Pasta– this would be the #1 I would say. Just cook some pasta and toss with some pesto and be delighted. Here’s a creamy pesto gnocchi recipe to check out.
• Marinade– such has chicken or shrimp
• Pizza– either dolupe some on some margarita pizza or replace the red sauce completely with pesto
• Sandwiches– this is a great spread to substitute for mayo or even to add with mayo
• Vegetables– toss with some veggies or potatoes and bake and serve along side your favorite dinner

What ingredients you need

• Fresh Basil– because you can’t make basil pesto without it. I used basil out of my indoor garden, but they sale it at the store either cut or a small indoor plant
  
• Parmesan Cheese– I suggest using fresh Parmesan with just buying a block of it and grated it or shaving it. If you don’t have time or access to fresh you can use already grated or shaved.
  
• Pine Nuts- you can find them in the nut aisle or baking aisle of the grocery store usually in a bag
  
• Garlic– fresh garlic cloves are great for this recipe, but if you forget to get some like I did minced canned garlic works great too
  
• Lemon– you will need the juice form the lemon and also zest from the lemon
• Olive oil– because not only is it an Italian staple it makes it where the pesto is spreadable and not just chunky

How to make Pine Nut Pesto

Start with fresh basil leaves and adding them to a food processor (Photo 1) Then add fresh Parmesan cheese (Photo 2) pine nuts (Photo 3), olive oil (Photo 4), minced garlic (Photo 5), lemon juice (Photo 6), and lemon zest (Photo 7) all to the food processor.

Add the lid to the food processor (Photo 8) and turn on the food processor and blend (Photo 9) Stop the processor and take the lid off and scrape down the sides of the bowl (Photo 10)

Put the lid back on and blend, blend, blend until it is all good (Photo 11) Set the pesto aside until it is needed.

Tips for this recipe

• I suggest using fresh Parmesan cheese either grating or shaving off a block of Parmesan because it is more flavorful when straight off the block.
  
• I used canned minced garlic for this recipe but fresh garlic cloves I believe taste a little better. Either will do
• You can toast your pine nuts on the stove top over medium-low heat in one even layer until they reach a golden color. This enhances the nut flavor
• You can store this pine nut pesto in an air tight container for 4-5 days in the refrigerator
• You can freeze the pesto in ice cubes trays and then transfer to a freezer bag and freeze up to 6 months

Other Italian recipes to try

Creamy Pesto Gnocchi
Chicken Parmesan
Lasagna without Ricotta
Garlic Bread
Pepperoni Bruschetta

Or check out all my Entrees recipes to find your next dinner

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