Basil is one of my favorite summer things. I think I could eat some combination of basil, tomato, and cheese everyday until fall and never be tired of it. I love to keep basil growing in our garden so that we have it on hand all summer long.

Basil leaves are the tastiest when you eat them on the young side. The trick is to prune the plant often. When I harvest groups of leaves from my plants, I cut or pinch the stalk just above a the next grouping of leaves where I can see tiny leaves or stems already beginning to grow. This encourages the plant to focus on growing more leaves and branches instead of producing flowers.

When our plants get full and bushy, it’s time to make some homemade pesto! Simple and garden fresh, this literal awesome-sauce comes together in just a few minutes and always impresses. Traditional pesto recipes include pine nuts, but I will let you in on a little secret: I never buy pine nuts. Why? They are pricey and I don’t use them in a single other recipe. Walnuts are my go-to for homemade pesto.

Ready for another secret? You can make pesto out of pretty much anything. The formula is simple: olive oil, garlic, aged cheese, something green, and a few nuts. You can swap the pine nuts for walnuts, almonds, pepitas or just about any nut or seed you know and love. You can swap the basil for different herbs, salad greens like spinach or arugula, or those lovely radish tops you are always tossing in the compost because you just aren’t sure what to do with them. You can even increase the nuts and ditch the cheese for a vegan worthy spread. Will these variations taste the same as your standard basil pesto? No. Will they make a tasty and spreadable awesome-sauce? YES.

But let’s get back to my favorite: basil walnut pesto. Toss this garlicky green goodness with your favorite pasta, spread it on your sandwiches, drop dollops of it onto your scrambled eggs! The only tricky thing about this recipe is figuring out just how much basil to use. A quick internet search of pesto recipes will give you recommendations ranging from two bunches (what even is a “bunch”?) to ten cups (ten?!).  I have settled on using between four and five full but loosely packed cups of basil leaves (see photos above for reference).

With five simple ingredients and the whirl of a blender you can have fresh pesto on the table faster than you can boil water. So get-to-getting and spread away!

 

Basil Walnut Pesto! Makes: 1 cup sauce        Prep time: 5 min
1/2 cup olive oil 4 cloves of garlic 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 4-5 cups loosely packed basil 1/2 cup grated parmesan salt	Place oil, garlic, walnuts and basil in a blender or food processor and puree. Add extra oil to thin if desired or necessary. Stir in parmesan Salt to taste Toss and spread to your hearts desire! Enjoy!