Presto-pesto

We heart pesto in this house. MrO will eat more pasta then you think is manageable for such a little dude when it is covered in the yummy green stuff and Daddy-O and I could probably have it at least once if not twice a week and be okay with it. Over the weekend we were visiting Daddy-O's sister and she had a ton of basil that needed trimming in her yard. We cut a bunch and brought it home with us.

After a good washing and plucking the leaves off the stems, I placed the pile (probably about 2 loose cups full) of the basil into my food processor along with 2-3 cloves of garlic and a pile of shredded Parmesan cheese. I gave it a good whirl while slowly pouring in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil and made the green paste that we love.

I placed the pesto into ice cube trays, covered them with plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. Once they are solid I will pop the cubes out and put them in a zip lock bag for later use. I don't use any nuts in my recipe (often pine nuts are used in pesto recipes) due to the fact that we have some nut allergies in the family and I just don't really like the flavor it gives. I also don't leave out the cheese even though I am freezing it. I have read that freezing with the cheese makes the pesto bitter, but this is the way my mom always made it and I have never noticed a bitter flavor before.

Enjoy over pasta, spread on a sandwich or drop a cube of pesto into your soup or risotto- yum!