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Lilly’s Table

 
 
Pesto Pasta Salad
© Lillys-Table.com Photo of Pesto
 

Tags: Gluten-Free Low-Glycemic nuts vegetarian

  • Hard
  • Medium
  • Easy

Prep
Difficulty
Easy

10 mins

Time
Estimate
10 mins

Icon Heart Healthy

Gluten
Free?
Yes

Summer

Typical
Season
Summer

Nutrition Info

  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

Protein

  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

Carbs

  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

Fats

  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

Vegetables

Recipe Detail

Summer

Pesto

from Tomato Sandwiches with Pesto Pasta Salad, the Week of July 1, 2012.
View the previous recipe for this meal.

Homemade pesto is an amazing, yet simple luxury. Have a mortar & pestle? Roll up those sleeves and pound some love into this garlic-basil-olive oil sauciness. Have a food processor? Pulse, pulse and you are done. We use lemon to brighten the flavor and retain color. Make this vegan by substituting more nuts for the cheese. If you can’t find or afford pricy pine nuts, I love my pesto with walnuts, pistachios, almonds or even pecans.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fresh basil, washed and dried
  • ¼ cup pine nuts, or walnuts
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated or go vegan with more pine nuts
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin, or more if needed
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice, more to taste if desired
  • 1 pinch sea salt, to taste

Serving Size: 6 People

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Preparation Instructions

Place the basil, nuts, cheese and garlic in a large mortar and pestle or place in a food processor or blender*. Pound or pulse into a fine paste while drizzling in the olive oil adding more as needed.

Finish with the lemon juice and salt to taste.

When you store pesto, drizzle a thin layer of olive oil on top as it will seal the top from turning dark & dingy. A squirt of lemon juice on top will help as well.

*If using a blender you may need to add more olive oil or even a splash of water to get things moving.