This post is so I remember to make this again when basil is plentiful in the garden.
Today my husband pruned our garden and I found myself with handfuls of fresh basil. It was time to make pesto. Pesto is easy to make in a food processor. I made my pesto based on this on this recipe, using the optional Parmesan cheese.
https://www.loveandlemons.com/pesto-recipe/
The one substitution I made was switching out walnuts for the pine nuts. A chef once told me this is a common substitution for pesto recipes.
I cooked up 4 servings of large shelled pasta in salted boiling water with a few drops of olive oil in the water. This pasta took 14-16 minutes to cook.
While the pasta was cooking, I cut two chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and seasoned them in kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. I slathered about 1/4 of the pesto sauce over the chicken pieces. Then I sautéed them in olive oil.
When the pasta was done, I drained it and put it in a large bowl. I put the sautéed chicken into the bowl with the pasta and added the rest of the pesto to the mix and stirred it up until coated evenly. A sprinkle of Parmesan and this was then ready to serve.
Here are the ingredients I used for the pesto.
Ingredients
Basic Basil Pesto:
- ½ cup walnuts
- The juice of one small lemon
- 1 small garlic clove
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups basil leaves
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for a smoother pesto
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
