I have been harvesting plenty of basil this year, I love it!  Most of the time, I like to make pesto with it.



I don’t really follow a recipe.  I just pack my food processor bowl with basil leaves.  Throw in a few tablespoons of walnuts, a couple garlic cloves, some Celtic Sea Salt, and start pulsing.  When it’s chopped down nicely, I will pulse and drizzle with olive oil.  Pesto calls for Parmesan cheese, but I have heard that if you are going to freeze it, you shouldn’t add the cheese.  So I just add some Parmesan to it when I thaw and am ready to use it.



What do you use pesto for?  It’s wonderful on pasta!  But did you know, there is more to pesto than just a pasta sauce?



You can use it on pizza instead of tomato sauce, it is awesome!  You can dip fresh veggies in it.  You can use some to make homemade salad dressing.  Just look in a basic cookbook, like Joy of Cooking for a basic ratio of oil to vinegar/lemon juice.  And don’t forget about my Pesto Cheesecake!  It’s really more of a cracker/bread spread.  Think cream cheese, basil, garlic, and sund-dried tomatoes.  It’s wonderful!



Do you have other ideas for pesto?  Please share.