Pesto, Pesto, Pesto

For every type of food there is a basic recipe. It's the recipe everyone starts out with, but after a few times it is fun to let your imagination run wild and put your own spin on it. One of my absolute favorite sauces to experiment with is pesto. With just five ingredients, one food processor and a little creativity, you are on your way to being an artist in the kitchen.


For those unfamiliar with pesto, it’s time to get introduced. It's an Italian sauce with a distinct green color, and is a combination of crushed herbs, garlic, nuts and cheese, with just enough olive oil to emulsify it.

Traditional pesto is made with basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese and olive oil. I love the sauce for its flavor, but what is so unique about pesto is that it fits in between a cream sauce and an olive oil sauce. It’s thicker than your typical olive oil based sauce and manages to give you the smooth texture of a cream sauce without the heaviness. When it comes to pesto there is plenty of room for flavor experimentation. I like to compare it to putting an outfit together. There are essential components, but multiple ways to put the pieces together, and that is where the true fun lies.

The decisions don’t end once the pesto is made; you still have to figure out what you’re going to put it on. Here are some of my favorite ways to use pesto:

• Gnocchi with pesto, asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella cubes

• Pasta with pesto

• In replace of tomato sauce on a pizza

• Chicken stuffed with pesto

• On an egg sandwich

• Mixed with fingerling potatoes

• Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella sandwich with pesto

• Addition to any sandwich

Pesto is the perfect sauce to prove you don’t need to be a star in the kitchen, own fancy appliances or high priced ingredients to create an inventive and delicious meal.

Traditional Pesto

2 cups of basil, washed and dried

½ cup pine nuts
3 cloves of garlic, chopped

½ cup olive oil

½ cup parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Combine basil, pine nuts in the food processor, pulse until finely chopped. Add garlic and pulse a few more times. Slowly add in olive oil in a constant stream through the top hole in the food processor as its running, may not need to use all the olive oil. Scrape down the sides and add parmesan cheese. Pulse a few more times. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

For arugula pesto, substitute arugula for the basil and walnuts for the pine nuts.