Pesto Pasta

After making (and tasting!) that pizza a few weeks ago I've gotten to thinking about what other toppings I could use, including a different sauce. Green so happens to be my favorite color, so I immediately though "Pesto!"

Now, you'd think you could find a straight-forward pesto recipe online, but there are so many small variations that I decided to maintain this spirit of experimenting and kind of combined two recipes I saw online. The only thing I'd change for next time is maybe use a little less EVOO, though the outcome was more delicious than I expected anyway.

** Pine Nut Warning: It turns out sometimes consumption of pine nuts can result in a bitter/metallic aftertaste that can last for several days after the fact. Some say this can happen if the pine nuts have gone bad, others only if the pine nuts are raw... either way 'Chefski had to deal with these consequences after enjoying a hefty handful. He still insists that the pesto was delicious, though next time we'll use walnuts instead.

Pesto Pasta

Adapted from Annie's Eats, and Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup fresh basil

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat and toast pine nuts for a few minutes until golden, maybe 2-4 minutes. Toss them in the blender to wait for the rest of their pesto-mates.

2. Using a little oil or non-stick spray, sautee the garlic for a few minutes until fragrant. When you've cooked them about 1-2 minutes, toss those in the blender too.

3. Add basil, olive oil, salt, and grated Parmesan cheese and blend! 

4. If you've made some pasta, just pour the pesto atop it and mix well to incorporate. If you want to save pesto for later, you can freeze it in an ice cube tray, then transfer the pesto cubes to a plastic bag and just grab one or two as you need them, when you need them.