One of my favorite, easy week night meals is this simple basil pesto recipe. I usually serve it with pasta and a roitesserarie chicken. Recently I served it over my zucchini noodles and wow! that was my favorite vegetable noodle dish I have ever eaten! When I make the pesto I add in the cheese after it is blended. I take a few scoops out for myself for a dairy-free version. I then add the parm cheese in for the rest of the family. It is so yummy it doesn’t even need the cheese! The key to good pesto is to boil the garlic first and to dry toast the pine nuts. I hope you love this as much as I do!
Basil contains high amounts of vitamin K! 2 Tbsp will get you 30% of your RDA. It also contains a good amount of vitamins C and A. Basil has antibacterial properties and contains DNA-protecting flavonoids. It is also an anti-inflammatory food.One of my favorite, easy week night meals is this simple basil pesto recipe. I usually serve it with pasta and a roitesserarie chicken. Recently I served it over my zucchini noodles and wow! that was my favorite vegetable noodle dish I have ever eaten! When I make the pesto I add in the cheese after it is blended. I take a few scoops out for myself for a dairy-free version. I then add the parm cheese in for the rest of the family. It is so yummy it doesn’t even need the cheese! The key to good pesto is to boil the garlic first and to dry toast the pine nuts. I hope you love this as much as I do!
Basil contains high amounts of vitamin K! 2 Tbsp will get you 30% of your RDA. It also contains a good amount of vitamins C and A. Basil has antibacterial properties and contains DNA-protecting flavonoids. It is also an anti-inflammatory food.
- 4 oz organic basil
- 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
- 4 cloves garlic (boil for 60 seconds before pressing)
- olive oil (to taste, I usually use a few Tbsp)
- sea salt (to taste)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
- Boil 4 cloves of garlic for 60 seconds
- Toast 1/2 a cup of pine nuts in a dry skillet until lightly browned
- Add one 4 oz package of organic basil to the food processor, I remove the big stems
- Press boiled garlic into processor, add nuts, a few swirls of olive oil and some sea salt.
- Blend until processed, scraping down sides a few times and adding oil to your desired consistency. I like mine kind of thick and not too oily.
- Scrape mixture into bowl. For dairy-free your done. Otherwise mix in 1/2 cup of grated parmesan. Serve immediately or cover with a light layer of olive oil and cover. When ready to serve mix, as the top will have turned a little brown.
- Serve room temperature over boiled noodles, mix in with noodles to make warm, mix in with vegetable noodles or just serve as a condiment. It is a great spread for sandwiches, a topping for meat, chicken or fish! This picture is zucchini noodles! (don't they look like regular noodles?)
