published Oct 15, 2021, updated May 27, 2024 Pesto is a wonderful sauce from Genoa, Italy that is perfect tossed with fresh pasta, spread on toasted bread or as a dip with vegetables. It consists of garlic, pine nuts, coarse salt, basil leaves and a hard cheese such as Parmigiano-Reggiano that gets blended with olive oil. I like to add a pinch of red pepper flakes to mine for a little kiss of heat.
Basil Pesto Recipe
The aroma from homemade pesto is so powerful. Fresh is always best to me, but feel free to grab some already made from the market. Sometimes I mix it up with the nuts I add, sometimes pine nuts other times walnut or cashew. If your not a tomato fan and need a great substitute for red tomato sauce, this is for you. Basil is one of my favorite herbs right up there with Thyme. Basil is originally native to India and other tropical regions of Asia, but best known as a culinary herb prominently featured in Italian cuisine. It also plays a major role in Southeast Asian cuisines of Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and the cuisine of Taiwan. Try this with my Alfredo Sauce to make a delicious Pesto Alfredo Sauce to go on any pasta, too!
Basil – Basil adds a fresh, vibrant flavor and aromatic herbaceousness to pesto, providing a distinctive green color and a sweet, slightly peppery taste that defines the sauce. Olive Oil – Olive oil adds a smooth, rich texture to pesto, blending ingredients seamlessly while imparting a fruity, slightly peppery flavor that enhances the overall taste. Garlic – Garlic adds a pungent, aromatic kick to pesto, enhancing its depth and providing a spicy undertone that complements the freshness of basil and richness of nuts. Pine Nuts – Pine nuts add a rich, buttery flavor and creamy texture to pesto, enhancing its nutty complexity and balancing the sharpness of basil and garlic.
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