Part Two of the Great Pesto Adventure!

I know all of you five or so people (and that's being generous) who read this blog are in high anticipation, on the edge of your seats even, just waiting to here the conclusion of my last post. Well, wait no longer, for the secret to pesto has been (somewhat) discovered!

Because Walmart disappointed us with its basil product selection, my roommate decided to expand her search to Hyvee. Here she found some lovely fresh basil, though it was a little pricey.

Now, to adjust the proportions of her recipe. She knew she needed a lot of basil, a little more olive oil, and a lot less Parmesan cheese than last time. Here were he conclusions:

2 cups fresh basil
2 cloves worth of minced garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

So last night, after using my handy chopper to chop first the fresh basil and then the pine nuts, she threw everything together in her magic bullet.

So we went from this....

(from: http://www.hy-vee.com/health/healthnotes/default.aspx?%2Fassets%2Ffood-guide%2Fbasil%2F~default)

to this....

Though still a little on the goopy side, it turned out much better than last time. It smelled strongly of basil, giving it that earthy, slightly minty scent. And it tasted a lot like basil, too, though in a good, pesto-y kind of way. My roommate still holds that it's not quite as good as her mom's homemade version, but I'm perfectly content with it. It's good on pasta, or even some gnocchi. In fact, I'm seriously considering digging into the leftovers for lunch today :)