Pesto

Wanted to make Pesto Pasta with homemade Pesto. As always Google helped me to find some Pesto recipes based on basil. With few additional ingredients from my kitchen, here is my version of Pesto.

Pesto:

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 3 mins | Serves : 2

Recipe Category: Dip/Side

Ingredients:

Fresh basil leaves – 1 cup (packed into measuring cup)

Baby spinach – 1/2 cup

Frozen Peas – 1/4 cup

Garlic – 2 cloves, peeled and sliced

Extra-virgin olive oil – 4 tbsp

pine nuts – 3 tbsp

Walnut – 3 tbsp

Cheddar and Mozzarella Grated – 1/4 cup (Parmesan is recommended. As we don’t eat Parmesan I opted for cheddar and mozzarella)

Kosher salt – as needed

Fresh ground black pepper – as needed

Method:

Wash basil leaves and baby spinach. Microwave frozen peas for 2 mins. Microwave pine nuts for 1 min or you can even roast it. Put basil leaves, baby spinach, peas and garlic into a blender/food processor until basil and garlic are finely chopped

Add pine nuts, walnuts, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses to the basil mixture and process for 1-2 minutes, until the pesto is well mixed. (I like to keep it finely pureed, but you can make it chunky as well)
Season with salt to taste. Add fresh ground black pepper and pulse a few times more