Basil Pesto Recipe

by Reluctantgourmet.com

This basil pesto recipe is something that you can make quickly and easily using a food processor or a blender. Everything you need is easy to find in your local shop. It is great for putting on or in meat and pastas, or with cottage cheese in stuffed pasta shells.


Basil Pesto Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves

• 3 tablespoons pine nuts (pignolia)

• 1 dash salt and pepper

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated


Preparation:

• Start by peeling and chopping the garlic. Then wash, dry and remove the stems from the fresh basil. If you are grating your own cheese and I highly recommend doing it yourself, now's the time to get it grated.

• The traditional way of making pesto is with a mortar and pestle. Start by adding basil, garlic, salt, and pine nuts to the mortar and grinding them to a paste. Pound in the cheese. Finally whisk in the oil until you have the desired consistency.

• As much as it is nice to try traditional methods, you may not have the time or energy to bruise basil leaves so you may want to reach for your food processor and puree a batch in a matter of minutes. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also use a blender.

• Add the garlic to the food processor and mince. Next, add the basil leaves, pine nuts, and a dash of salt and pepper to the bowl of the processor. While the processor is running, slowly drizzle in olive oil through the feed tube until all the ingredients are pureed.


• You may need to stop the processor at this point and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula to get every mixed together. Now add Parmesan cheese and mix it into the rest of the mixture. If the pesto is too thick, add a tablespoon of water.

• Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to use it. This should keep for 2 - 3 days in the fridge but freezes well if you want to keep it longer. Enjoy.

Original Basil Pesto Recipe


*Here I'd like to tell you about a healthy diet program that uses a lot of the lower GI foods: Isabel de los Rios' 'The Diet Solution Program'.

The Diet Solution Program favours a long term health orientated approach to fat loss, but not offering anyone a quick fix to their weight troubles. It has loads of valuable data and research to support its approach. I personally investigated the program thoroughly and my mum has been using it for a while now. I have to say she got some great results.

The nutrition plan is one of the healthiest we have seen, a strong core focus on vegetables, fruits, vitamin dense foods, lean proteins, select dairy produce and a clear approach to not expecting one diet to work for all body types. So give it a try and let me know how you’re doing.*