How I Make Pesto

Notice that the title of this post is not "How to Make Pesto" or "Pesto Recipe."  Usually my cooking involves ratios.  This drives some people crazy.  Sometimes it gets me in trouble {insert flop}.

So, this is how I made pesto.  Today.  And it turned out just fine {insert smirk}.

First, give your basil bush a haircut.  Whack it waaaaay back.  You'll want about 2 cups worth, packed tight.

Then gather the rest of your pesto making supplies.  I used Chaffin Family Orchards olive oil, Honeysuckle Lane (local) raw cheddar, garlic, and soaked walnuts.

A word about the above ingredients:

I love Chaffin Family Orchard's olive oil (no kickbacks for this praise).  I buy a gallon once a year.  It is great tasting oil.  

Cheese - most pesto recipes call for parmesan, Parmesan-Reggiano, Romano, or some combination of the three.  I've found that as long as it is a hard-ish cheese and somewhat sharp (tasting), it will work just fine.

Nuts - soaking and dehydrating them is not crucial but helps to increase the digestibility of them.  I usually buy nuts in 5 pound increments.  Then soak/dehydrate all at once.  I found a dehydrator at Goodwill that works great. 

The Recipe

I grated about 1/3 cup of cheese into my food processor then added a generous handful (or two?) of walnuts and 4 garlic cloves.  Pulsed until the consistency was mealy.  Then I dumped 2 cups of packed basil leaves into the processor, then turned it on.  While it was running, I drizzled about 1/2 cup of olive oil - until it made the consistency I was looking for.

The below picture isn't a very appetizing one.  Let me assure you, though, that it is quite tasty.

-Julie