Pesto is one of my favorite sauces! It’s great as a spread in sandwiches, can be tossed into pasta or used as stuffing for pork and chicken. It’s also a key ingredient for my Pesto Minestrone Soup and Chicken and Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto. Pesto also freezes well if you have extra. For the recipe I used my handy Chef’s Guide To Stocks & Sauces (Quickstudy: Home). It has dozens of recipes and is laminated too, which is great to have in the kitchen. Check it out!

Ingredients
1/2 cup Olive oil
1 1/2 cups Fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
2 medium Garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
2 Tbsp. Pine nuts (almonds or walnuts)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 Tbsp. Cream, heavy or half and half (optional)

Directions
Step 1. Place all ingredients in blender or food processor and process until creamy. We used a handheld immersion blender.
Step 2. For a more opaque and richer pesto, add cream and process 10 seconds more.
Step 3. It’s now ready to serve. Do not cook.

Pesto ingredients