Homemade Pesto – Basil & Spinach

Homemade Pesto – Basil & Spinach

I use basil and spinach leaves in mine with walnuts, pine nuts, a fresh block of Parmesan-Reggiano cut up into chunks, 3-6 cloves of garlic, kosher salt and fresh course ground black pepper to taste and a good olive oil.  Everything is done by sight and taste.

I place the spinach and basil leaves in the food processor, then layer on the nuts, garlic and chunks of cheese along with some of the kosher salt and pepper.  I press pulse a few times until everything has a course chop on it.  Then I start to add in the olive oil.  If needed I add additional salt and pepper to taste.

When done I place some of the pesto mixture in a few small mason jars and drizzle on some olive oil to keep it fresh and air tight.  One jar goes into the refrigerator and the others go into the freezer.

It’s great for spreading on bread to make a toasted cheese sandwich with fresh spinach leaves, for a dip, on pasta, on Naan bread, for a pizza sauce or any thing else you can think of.