04 Sep BASIL PESTO

The best thing about basil pesto (aside from how delicious it is) is how simple and super quick it is to make. You can literally whip it up in 10 minutes without having to put in any hard work. Although there’s nothing that beats a classic basil pesto recipe, I always like to add a tasty twist to mine that can be eaten with basically anything.

Along with pesto tasting amazing, it’s great to know that it has some great health benefits too. It is considered healthy because its high fat content is unsaturated fat, which improves your cholesterol levels – this means that you can over indulge in some pesto and not be scared. It is also great at lowering the inflammatory levels in your body, so that’s a less risk of diabetes and heart disease too (this keeps getting better, right?)

It’s always great making basil pesto, because you don’t have to use a lot of it to get all its flavour. It is very aromatic when it’s fresh. Sometimes, I like to substitute half of my basil leaves with some coriander or spinach when I’m making it for people who aren’t big fans of basil, which makes a delicious alternative.

This basil pesto recipe is very simple and is amazing when tossed with some pasta, spread on fresh bread or dolloped on your favourite pizza.

Time: 10 minutes

Makes approximately 2 cups of pesto

Ingredients:

•           120g basil leaves

•           5 cloves of garlic

•           1 cup of grated parmigiano reggiano cheese OR hard cheese

•           ½ cup pine nuts

•           4 Tbsp chopped lemon zest 

•           1 cup of olive oil

•           ½ teaspoon of salt to taste

•           ¼ teaspoon of black pepper

Method:

1.         Put all ingredients except olive oil, salt and pepper into a food processor (or nutribullet) and blend until at preferred texture.

2.         While the food processor is running, add the olive oil in slowly until your pesto is at the desired consistency.

3.         Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

Recipe Notes:

–           You can add chilli instead of lemon zest if you would prefer your pesto to be spicy.

–           Any leftover pesto can be separated and frozen in small plastic containers for up 3 months, and defrosted in small batches when needed.

– If you hate your pesto turning dark as much as I do, then you should keep it in an airtight container to avoid it being exposed to air. This will help to maintain its fresh, green colour for over a week.