Basil Pesto

I love pesto so much and have been wanting to make it for a while now. I finally decided to take the plunge and pretend I was making pesto for the army. I went to the Cash & Carry (restaurant supply) store and bought 2 pounds of basil, a gallon of EVOO, and a couple pounds of Parmesan Cheese! I now think I have enough pesto in the freezer for at least 10 dinner parties, how exciting is that? I was going to put spinach in the pesto to help it keep the green color, a great tip I got from Lydia, but completely spaced buying it at the grocery store, so I am keeping my fingers crossed for bright beautiful green pesto sauce anyways. I put a layer of EVOO over the top to help keep the color, so we will see how well that works.
The thing I love most about pesto is the versatility…You can toss is with a little pasta water and pasta to make a delicious dish, add a bit to salad dressing, put it on bruschetta, use it on grilled salmon, add to mac and cheese to spice it up a bit, and who doesn't love a pesto pizza?

Basil Pesto

1 Clove Garlic
¼ Cup Pine Nuts, roasted
½ Teaspoon Salt & Pepper
2 Cups Basil, tightly packed
¾ Cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
½ Cup Parmesan Cheese, finely grated

In the bowl of a food processor with the blade attachment add the garlic, pine nuts, salt and pepper and process until finely chopped. Next add the basil and pulse until basil is coarsely chopped. With machine running drizzle in the EVOO, and process until smooth. Now add the parmesan and process just until incorporated.

Pesto Pasta

Pesto has such amazing flavor and a beautiful green color. I love to make my own, but this time of year it is too expensive to buy fresh basil to do so, so I used a canned pesto sauce. If you are buying a pre-made pesto sauce, just be sure it is made with basil and pine nuts, as a lot of pesto’s are made with walnuts and spinach as a filler. This is also good with a little heavy cream stirred in to make it a little more rich, but definitely not necessary. I made this for dinner the other night because I was having company over after work and didn’t have a lot of time. It literally cooks in the time that the pasta takes to boil, so it’s a good meal for during the week or for a last minute dinner party.

Pesto Pasta

1 Pound Pasta
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into cubes
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Pound Mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 Cup Sundried Tomatoes, chopped (reconstituted dried, or oil packed)
2-8 oz Jars Pesto Sauce, or homemade
Parmesan Cheese, for serving
Oil

Cook pasta per directions on package. While pasta is cooking sauté chicken in large skillet until golden brown and just cooked through, about 5 minutes, remove and set aside. Add a little more oil to the pan add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add mushrooms and sauté until tender, 3-4 minutes. Next add sundried tomatoes, chicken, cooked pasta and pesto sauce, stir to combine. If sauce is too thick add a little pasta water. Serve immediately with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese on top.