Garlic Pesto

It's been raining a lot, but it's also warmer and even the rain (which reminds me flowers will be blooming) makes me want to scream Spring is here! And eat a bunch of fresh green things. Yum! As soon as I smelled this basil, I knew I had to eat it, and what better way to eat it than in a delicious pesto sauce. The amazing thing about homemade pesto (besides how delicious and easy it is) is how vibrant the color is, the jarred stuff is all dark and oily, but not this. This looks like all the beautiful and exceptionally appetizing light, bright green. If the smell doesn't make you want to dive in, the color definitely will. This makes enough for 3 or 4 batches of pasta, or you can make 1 batch of pasta and use the rest to marinate meats, make salad dressings, spread on sandwiches, etc. It also freezes well, if you would like to have it keep awhile longer, just freeze it in chunks, I have heard that usisng ice cube trays is a great way to freeze individual servings.

Garlic Pesto Sauce:
2 cups basil
1 cup parsley
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 garlic cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup olive oil
1-3 tbsp of water
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 squeeze lime juice
Tortellini or other pasta for serving.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Toast the pine nuts in the oven until fragrent and slightly browned, careful not to burn, about 5 minutes. Add the basil, parsley, garlic, and pine nuts to a food processor and blend until chopped. Add in salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Turn the food processor on and stream in the olive oil until it's well incorporated. Stream in water, if the mixture is too thick. Add cheese and lime juice and blend until incorporated. Adjust seasoning as necessary. Stir a few spoonfulls into cooked pasta over low heat, adding a little at a time (you can always add more, you can't add less).

Happy Eating.