Making Fresh Pesto

Last week I stumbled upon some beautifully fresh basil and decided to make pesto. David and I love pesto and fortunately, we don’t get sick of it because I’ve incorporated it into four dinners in the past week. I went with the classic, no frills pesto and it was absolutely delicious and super easy to make.

I followed this recipe from Simply Recipes

Ingredients
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Special equipment needed: A food processor Method

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

What I made:

Night 1: Chicken pesto pasta

1. Cook GF spaghetti ( Bionaturae Brand: follow instructions on container, but I would suggest not using as much salt as they recommend)

2. Cook chopped boneless chicken breasts on stove with olive oil for about 8 minutes on medium heat.

3. Once chicken is cooked, add cherry tomatoes to pan and cook on low temp to soften tomatoes…I used all different color tomatoes from the Decatur Farmers’ Market to add more color to the plate.

4. When pasta and chicken are ready, drain pasta and put in a serving bowl with chicken and toss in pesto.

I also roasted some fresh okra (400 degrees for 10 min, olive oil, S and P) for the meal as well. Enjoy!

*More details on Pesto Nights 2, 3, and 4 still to come!