BASIL WALNUT PESTO

Basil from the Farmers Market

I know. Not another Pesto recipe.  Yes, but after a visit to my Farmers Market and purchasing a beautiful bunch of basil, the first thing that entered my mind was pesto.  So I decided to do a take on the traditional Italian recipe that uses pine nuts in pesto and used walnuts instead.  Simple and very good. And the food cost was about one-third the price than using the pine nuts. I never add cheese, so the leftover pesto (if there is any), could be frozen for up to about three months.

On the other hand, I used a premium pasta from Academia Barilla and served it with shrimps, And I still met a less than 25 percent food cost for this dish. 

BASIL WALNUT PESTO

3 cups basil firmly packed (about 3 weighted ounces)

1/4 cup walnuts
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine basil, walnuts and garlic in a food processor.  Pulse until all ingredients are mixed, being careful not to "over-process" which could start to "cook" the basil.  Then, slowly add the olive oil until there is a moist paste.  That's it.  The yield is about 2 cups.

 

Fresh Basil with Roots

 

Wash Basil and spin dry.

 

Spin Dry Basil

 

Spin-Dried Basil

 The basket weighs 1.5 oz, so the actual weight of the basil is about 3.25 oz.

Weighing the basil

Processed Pesto



Basil Walnut Pesto

Basil Walnut Pesto With Shrimps

Since I don't add cheese to my pesto, I sometimes add it at the end--even if there are shrimps in the dish.



And Topped With Cheese