Basil Pesto from Italy

For the last day of condiments for buffet on table, I made fresh tomato sauce. Later when I checked the condiments list, tomato sauce was not on the list and I had to make another condiment. I will post tomato sauce recipe tomorrow. Here is the tomato sauce recipe. I bought a bunch of basil to prepare tomato sauce. That required only few basil leaves and I had almost a bunch of basil that needed to be used up very soon. I made this pesto sauce few hours ago. I took very quick picture before the sunset as I would be very busy all day Saturday and might not have time to click any pictures.

Pesto is a sauce that originated in Northern Italy, prepared with garlic, cheese, pine nuts and basil. I made my version of pesto using walnuts, green chili and basil. I did not use cheese here as it can always be added later when using the pesto. Pesto can used as a sauce for pasta and also as a spread for sandwiches.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch Basil or 2 cups fresh Basil Leaves
• ¼ cup Walnuts lightly toasted
• 2 – 3 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Green Chili
• ¼ tsp. Salt
• ¼ cup Olive Oil
• ¼ – ⅓ cup Parmesan Cheese (I did not use it)

Preparation:

• Take all the ingredients in a food processor bowl and pulse it a few times, scraping edges, until basil and walnuts are coarsely ground.
• Adjust salt to taste, transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Additional oil can be poured on top if storing for a longer time.

Note:

• I used green chili here but traditionally pepper powder is used.
• I used walnuts instead of pinenuts.
• I did not add cheese as I wanted to add it later when preparing pasta or when using it as a spread.

This day in 2014: Qatar – Qahwa Helw ~ Flavored Coffee

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 56