About this Recipe

By: Kevin Clayton

Home-made pesto is my go-to ingredient to add flavor to any dish. It’s great mixed into pasta, rice, or risotto; spread over pork chops, chicken breast, or steak; and can even be mixed with olive oil or mayonnaise to create a tremendously delicious salad dressing!  My favorite way to enjoy pesto is spread over some oven-baked pork chops (with some parmesan cheese sprinkled over top) towards the end of the bake. Another favorite is using the pesto as the base for some oven baked pizza topped with chicken, red onion, and fresh mozzarella.

Admittedly, I did not always enjoy pesto. It may have been the certain brand of store-bought pesto that just left a bitter taste in my mouth. That all changed when I started growing my own basil! Basil is super easy to grow, and making homemade pesto with fresh basil is certainly a game changer, and something I highly recommend. It only takes a few minutes to whip up a fresh batch of high quality pesto.  In less than five minutes you will have an ingredient that can elevate a variety of meals, is healthy, and tastes absolutely great!

Ingredients

Wash and dry basil. Combine basil, sunflower seeds, and garlic to food processor. Turn on high and slowly drizzle in olive oil. Once olive oil is added, turn off food processor and scrape down sides. Add parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and turn processor back on high until cheese is fully incorporated. (Add extra olive oil if needed for desired consistency.)