Homemade Pesto

There are plenty of times where, as Ina says, store bought is fine. Better than fine, even. But once you’ve tried homemade pesto from fresh basil leaves, you’re going to leave the store bought stuff far behind. You can grow your own basil easily in a pot on your porch, your deck, your windowsill, even the dashboard of your van. Add a blender, seasoning, olive oil, pine nuts, and Parmesan, and you’ve got a terrific addition to your home sauces!

I love seeing articles come up where chefs give their opinions on what they would make from scratch at home and what they’d just buy at the store.

It makes you feel a whole lot less guilty about deciding that a mix or a pre-made takeaway meal is good enough when the professionals are buying the same thing. And it also gives you some insight on what things are worth spending the time to make at home.

For me, pesto is one of those things I will always make time to make at home.

It doesn’t hurt that I have a basil plant that seems to double in size every day.

I use a lot of basil in my cooking, but I find myself still having to pinch off huge stems so that the lower part of the plant can get enough water and sun.

And the leaves definitely aren’t wasted – some go onto a margherita pizza, some go into caprese of various kinds including these sandwiches and these burgers, and a lot of it becomes pesto!

If you haven’t made your own pesto before, trust me when I say it isn’t like other sauces. There’s no cooking involved, no meticulous stirring to make sure your roux doesn’t break, nothing fancy.

Instead, you just take five simple ingredients – basil leaves, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, garlic cloves, and olive oil – plus some salt and pepper to taste, and throw them in your blender or food processor, and voila! Five minutes or less to a delicious sauce!

Here’s how it’s done.

[lt_recipe name=”Homemade Pesto” summary=”There are plenty of times where, as Ina says, store bought is fine. Better than fine, even. But once you’ve tried homemade pesto from fresh basil leaves, you’re going to leave the store bought stuff far behind. Start with the basil. Add a blender, seasoning, olive oil, pine nuts, and Parmesan, and you’ve got a terrific addition to your home sauces!” servings=”1″ total_time=”10″ print=”yes” image=”https://homefrontcooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Pesto-0971-1024×683.jpg” ingredients=”2 cups basil leaves;2 fresh garlic cloves;1/3 cup pine nuts;1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese;1/2 cup olive oil;salt and freshly ground pepper to taste” ]Place the basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, and parmesan in a food processor or blender {I use my Vitamix’s dry container}. Pulse on low until the basil leaves are chopped into fine bits and everything has combined into a coarse mixture.;Put the blender on low speed and add the olive oil slowly, letting the blender mix everything together until a thick sauce is formed.;Use immediately if you can – the flavor is unreal!;Makes enough to fill an 8-oz canning jar.[/lt_recipe]

Note: Pesto lasts about a week in the fridge, 3-4 months if you stick it in the freezer! Serve with pasta, baked chicken, or in my Caprese sandwiches!

What do you guys swear by making at home and what will you buy from the store?