Italian Basil Pesto Recipe

Summer basil pesto is already in rotation around here and I just couldn’t be happier!! Such a simple recipe but my favorite. I already know there will be people bickering in the comments about the use of lemon juice but if you don’t care for it just simply leave it out, I just think it adds lovely brightness to it and keeps the color so gorgeously green. To store in the fridge, once you have in your jar, let it settle for 5 minutes then top with a layer of extra virgin olive oil to keep the pesto from oxidizing. Recipe below! You’ll see this a lot in my summer recipes so save this to always have it in your back pocket!

RECIPE:
2 cups of fresh basil (pack the basil in the cups to measure approximately)
1/3 cup of toasted pine nuts
1 to 2 tbsp of lemon juice (I use 2)
1 large or two small cloves of garlic
Pinch of salt
Stream in 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Then stir in 1/2 cup of grated parm (I like to stir the parm in after it’s blended I think it tastes better and has better texture). Store covered up to a week making sure to always top it off with a little oil to keep it nice and green!