Basil, Walnut, & Almond Pesto

The bright & herby basil, with the rich nuts, pungent garlic & grassy olive oil make a perfect addition to those delicious pasta & pizza recipes.

Basil pesto is one of my favorite little condiments!

The bright & herby basil, with the rich nuts, pungent garlic & grassy olive oil make a perfect addition to those delicious pasta & pizza recipes.

It also freezes like a dream and is so easy to whip up! I usually make my basil pesto with pistachios, but this time around I used a mix of walnuts & almonds.

It’s one of my favorite sauces to have in the freezer and this is probably the easiest pesto recipes. So check out my version of basil pesto!

Ingredients

• 2 large bunches of basil • 5 - 6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped • juice & zest of one lime/lemon (if you can find Meyer lemons they are great in the pesto) • ¾ cup (combined) toasted whole almonds and toasted chopped walnuts • ½ cup olive oil • salt & pepper to taste • 1/4 - 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino cheese, optional

Directions

In a pan over a medium low flame, toast the almonds & walnuts until fragrant & golden brown & set aside to cool. Add a mortar & pestle add in whole almonds and pound until they are in large chunks. Remove and repeat with the walnuts and set aside.

In a food processor add in all the basil and run until all the basil is chopped into small pieces (you can do this by hand and add it in a well. I just find it easier to do it all in the processor). Then add in the lemon juice & zest, salt, pepper, & garlic and blend until garlic isn't in chunks any more. Slowly stream in the olive oil and blend until completely combined. Now add in crushed nuts and pulse until combined, but not completely smooth (make sure that the nuts still have lots of texture to them).

Store in an air tight container in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Extra Tips:

• I don't add parmesan to my pesto if I'm going to be freezing it. I've found that the pesto goes rancid very quickly. Instead I add it in when I'm going to use the pesto. You can add it in if you want to skip this step when making the pesto.

• You can use any nuts you have at home for this pesto. My favorite version is with pistachios!