Basil Paste
Equipment
- Food Processor / Blender
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh basil leaves, about 4 ounces, stems removed, washed, and dried
- ¼ cup olive oil, may need a bit more as needed
Instructions
- Place the basil leaves in the bowl of a food processor (or blender). Drizzle with ¼ cup of the olive oil. Pulse, then process until finely chopped to form a paste, adding a little more olive oil as needed so the paste is barely covered with oil.
- Transfer to a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid and drizzle with oil to barely cover the top. Or transfer ½ to 1 cup of the paste to a heavy-duty freezer-safe resealable plastic storage bag, pressing the paste until it's flattened and removing the extra air, and then seal and freeze.
I made Pesto once… took a lot more leaves than I thought it would take to get a half of a peanut butter jar’s worth. I used crushed cashews as the nut. Pine nuts are absurdly expensive and I’m not even sure if they’re available anywhere other than Villa Mart. The cashews worked just fine.