Homemade basil pesto is super fresh and flavoursome, and such a good way to use up and preserve the abundance of summer basil coming in from the garden.
My preferred basil to use is Sweet Genovese because it looks amazing in the garden and also tastes amazing as a pesto, though you really can use any basil you like, even if it’s started to flower. Whatever type you use, you’ll want to give your harvest a good wash, or leave to soak in a sink of water to make sure you’ve taken care of any caterpillar stowaways!
Ingredients for Cashew Basil Pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup roasted cashews (or toasted pine nuts)
- 1/4 cup parmesan, finely grated
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
How to make Cashew Basil Pesto
- Combine basil, garlic, cashews (or toasted pine nuts) and grated parmesan in a food processor, or blend with a stick blender.
- With the motor running, slowly add extra virgin olive oil
- Once blended, season to taste with lemon juice, salt and black pepper.
Recipe Notes
Basil – If you don’t quite have two cups of basil available, you can bulk it out with other soft herbs like parsley, oregano, cilantro, mint, sage, or tarragon. Or if you don’t have other herbs you can even use some leafy greens like spinach, kale, rocket or carrot tops. Obviously these will all affect the overall flavour. Feel free to experiment with different mixes and find your favourite combination!
Nuts – I love the flavour of cashews and find them much cheaper than traditional pine nuts. You can certainly change up the nuts in this recipe to whatever you have available. Consider walnuts, pistachios or almonds. You can even bulk out your nut quantity with oily seeds like pumpkin or sunflower.
Storage – This recipe for Homemade Basil Pesto will make about a cup. If you manage to not eat it all at once, it will keep well in the fridge in an airtight container for a week or two. Pour a splash of oil across the top to stop it browning off. Otherwise, freeze in ice cubes or silicon muffin trays and store up to a year!
How to use Pesto
Pizza, pasta and bruschetta are my favourite places to start with Pesto! But the options are really endless. Add it to salads, smother across baked chicken, add it to sandwiches and dollop in soups, add to a cheese board or dip your vege sticks for a healthy snack!
