Creamy and delicious Basil Pesto with Walnuts. How good is basil! its delightful aroma is a symbol of summer. The recipe I want to tell you about today is a version of the most classic Genovese pesto, in fact I replaced the classic pine nuts with walnuts. The flavor is more intense and the result is a fragrant and delicious cream perfect for dressing pasta or simply spreading on crostini and bruschetta. Now that your basil plants are in their best period, you should take advantage of it and capture all its flavor and aroma in a jar. I recommend you don’t miss all my tips on How to preserve basil all year round. You can prepare many jars and freeze them so you have it ready for all your recipes. What do you say, have I already convinced you to try it? Let’s run to the kitchen and prepare the Basil and Walnut Pesto together
AND DON’T MISS THESE RECIPES TOO:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4People
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer, Fall
- Energy 133.39 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 0.42 (g) of which sugars 0.15 (g)
- Proteins 3.00 (g)
- Fat 13.76 (g) of which saturated 2.80 (g)of which unsaturated 0.79 (g)
- Fibers 0.22 (g)
- Sodium 142.25 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 45 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Basil Pesto
- 1 1/2 cups basil
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup walnut kernels
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2 ice cubes ice
How to prepare Basil Pesto
To prepare the Pesto you can use the classic mortar or, if you want to proceed faster and don’t have patience, you can use the immersion blender. Wash the basil leaves and let them dry on a towel.
Pour the garlic and walnut kernels into the mortar in small pieces. Work with the pestle until you get a cream. Add the basil leaves and coarse salt. With the pestle first crush and then make rotary movements to get a creamy preparation. Add the Parmesan and mix. Finish by adding the extra virgin olive oil and rotate the pestle to incorporate it well.
Pour the garlic clove, basil, coarse salt, and walnut kernels into the blender cup in small pieces. Add 2 ice cubes and blend at high speed for a few seconds. Add the grated Parmesan and extra virgin olive oil and blend again quickly for a few seconds until you get a very creamy Pesto.
The addition of ice cubes lowers the temperature and prevents the basil from darkening
I recommend putting the cup and blades in the fridge an hour before preparation and proceeding with short and intense blends
Loredana’s Tips
The pesto can be stored in a jar in the fridge for 2 days or you can freeze it in smaller jars to have the right portion you need. A particular and practical solution can be to freeze it in ice cube trays so you have small portions to add to your preparations
If you prefer, you can omit the garlic clove. For a stronger flavor, you can replace the grated Parmesan with pecorino cheese
Don’t miss the recipe for my Zucchini and Carrot Pesto
