Turn Your Leftover Herbs Into This Easy Pesto

Pesto is a staple sauce that can be used during all seasons and will never fail to add an extra pop of flavor to vegetables, pizza, or pasta. It can literally be put on anything and is VERY easy to make. Pesto is great because you can use any sort of leafy green or herb when you’re making it. You can get creative and use arugula, kale, spinach, broccolini, parsley, or even mint. Pesto is really just greens + nuts + oil + garlic + cheese, it’s as easy as that! I love making pesto when I have extra herbs in my kitchen, a perfect way to put herbs to use before they go bad.

ingredients

• 1 cup basil leaves

• ½ cup parmesan 

• ¼ cup pine nuts

• ¼ olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves (not all garlic cloves are the same size, so if you have a really large garlic clove, use one instead of two)

• Salt & pepper to taste

steps

• Lightly toast your pine nuts by heating them in a pan on the stove or by popping them onto a sizzle tray in the oven for about 3-5 minutes. Keep an eye on them, because they toast pretty quickly. 

• Put your toasted pine nuts, and garlic into a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, a blender will work fine. Once you have a nice paste, add in your basil and blend to combine. 

• Once a creamy, green paste has formed, slowly pour in the olive oil. Stop mixing when the oil is fully incorporated.

• Lastly, add in the parmesan cheese and mix by hand, using a spatula, until combined.

Making pesto is a savvy way to repurpose leftover greens and herbs that you have laying around your kitchen. Make yourself a batch and cozy up with a big plate of pesto pasta...my mouth is watering just thinking about it.