Because we tend to do things differently around here it took us until now to make a more traditional pesto. You may remember our Beet Green Pesto if you’ve been around our site before. It’s a great way to use the tops of beets and we love zero waste food. But, today we finally got around to giving you a more traditional, very delicious, Quick and Easy Basil Pesto. It’s not that we haven’t made this version in the meantime, we simply never got around to sharing it with you (sorry!).

This Quick and Easy Basil Pesto is a perfect toss in for pasta or gnocchi (as we did with our Beet Green Pesto Gnocchi). It also works well with meat or simply as a snack with some fancy crackers. Let’s just say a batch doesn’t last long around our home. This is a lightning quick recipe – surely music to your ears – so let’s get to it.

Preparation: Quick and Easy Basil Pesto

Grab a fistful of fresh basil and strip the leaves, grate fresh cheese from the block, slice a lemon in half and you’re done prepping 🙂

One note on the cheese: we recommend parmigiano reggiano but alas we had a block of asiago on hand. Guess what? It turned out wonderfully. Asiago is a little sharper and nuttier (also from a different region). We like bolder flavors anyway. We’ve tried to build our entire site on bigger, bolder flavors so this suits us well. Besides, it’s typical of most cooks to use what’s on hand than to make a special trip to the market.

Drop everything into a food processor and combine until smooth. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for later use. So simple, just like we promised.

Equipment: Quick and Easy Basil Pesto

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