This is a LOT of basil. 10 cups to be precise.
Rob really likes gardening and actually built our garden from scratch. The soil and everything. True story. I’ll let him tell you about it sometime. Composting is a great thing. About 1/4 of our garden is devoted is devoted to basil.
His garden goal (or maybe his life goal) is to see if he can ever get sick of pesto. He made a lot of pesto last summer and perfected his recipe. I convinced him to share it with my loyal blog readers. 
Rob’s Perfected Pesto
- 2 c. basil
- 1/2 c. olive oil
- 1/4 clove of garlic (or to taste)
- 3 T. toasted pine nuts
- 2 T. grated Parmesan
- 2 T. grated Romano
- pinch of coarse salt
- pinch of freshly ground pepper
Easy directions
1. Stick it all in a food processor and blend. Devour how you wish.
However, for the ultimate experience, use a mortar and pestle. They are actually pretty cheap to obtain. The flavors come out better with a mortar and pestle. Really, they do.
Mortar & Pestle Instructions
Rob says the order that you mix it in is important. So pay attention!
- Grind the salt, pepper, and garlic in a mortar and pestle.
- Add basil to mortar and grind away with the pestle.
- Drive your significant other crazy with the pounding and grinding noise.
- Slowly add most of the olive oil. Add a little, grind. Add a little more, and grind some more.
- Add cheeses and grind.
- Add more olive oil and grind.
- Add pine nuts and any remaining olive oil and grind to desired consistency.
- If you’re not going to use all of your pesto at once, scoop it into ice cube trays and freeze. Once solid, pop them out and put them in a ziplock bag.
Enjoy with bread, on a sandwich, in an omelet, with pasta, with a spoon, whatever.
Now, you might have figured out from the top picture that Rob made a TON of pesto. And this is only the first batch of the summer. That being said, I need some ideas of what to do with pesto.
What’s your favorite way to use pesto?
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{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
I like it drizzled on a vegetable soup or in a salad with lemon juice and fresh tomatoes.
mmm… now I want to go make some…
On a turkey sandwich! It adds soooo much flavor.
Lindsay @ Summit Sandwiches´s last [type] ..Track Laps And Chocolate Catharsis
i just started eating pesto. i had it on a baguette with turkey, cheese, and sunddried tomato. so delish! i need to make my own.
christina´s last [type] ..Gnu Foods Flavor & Fiber Bar Reviews!
Ooooo my. Fresh Pesto. My favorite thing. I like it pretty simple–pasta, in pizza. Yum.
I love homemade pesto! It’s on my summer to-do list, for sure. (But I wish I had a significant other who loved gardening!) (Or I wish I had a place to have a garden!)
legalstyle´s last [type] ..day one
LOL loooove it!!!! I made it once with mortar and pestle..but this recipe is probably much better! How’s your house smelling?
Ashley´s last [type] ..Cleveland bound!
I love pesto but have never made it with my mortar and pestle! I don’t know if I’d have the patience.
Jessica @ How Sweet´s last [type] ..Maple-Glazed Salmon Salad with Warm Honey Vinaigrette.
A man with a good pesto…..every woman’s dream!
Lauren´s last [type] ..Cleveland Weekend Part 2, Party for the Princesses
I love pesto. We grew some basil last year, but we don’t really have a good garden spot. Damn apartment. We do compost!!! Composting is the greatest thing. More people should do it and there would be way less trash filling up landfills.
Angela @ A Healthy Fit´s last [type] ..Check out my goodies!
Haha I like Rob’s life goal!
My favorite way to have pesto is probably just to put it in pasta. You really can’t go wrong with that, especially if you throw some cherry tomatoes in there too!
Megan @ The Oatmeal Diaries´s last [type] ..dear bandwagon, don’t leave without me
yummmm. our favorites are: crusty baguette with fresh mozzarella, pesto, and a basil leaf (you know, for good measure) or sandwiches with a simple roasted chicken (salt, pepper, olive oil) shredded, shmear of pesto and the aforementioned mozz. our garden definitely is basil heavy too. it’s marvelous.
andi´s last [type] ..group exercise musings.
So funny that you wrote the extra basil leaf. I made that same sandwich yesterday, but with goat cheese because I didn’t have mozzarella. And Rob made fun of me for putting on an extra basil leaf! But I like that extra kick!
This is great–I’ve never made my own pesto, so I could use a recipe. We’re growing basil, too, and it’s almost like a bush now. I think this will be a good way to eat a bunch of it.
I haven’t been brave enough to attempt homemade pesto but I love it in scrambled eggs and we use it on pizza instead of tomato sauce.
You really can’t go wrong with good pesto, bread and cheese. Nice work!
Nichole´s last [type] ..Pilates & Pedaling – Weekend Rewind
It’s so awesome that you’ve built your garden from scratch. And a husband who has perfected a pesto recipe — definitely a keeper!!
I love pesto on most things — especially salads, sandwiches, and pasta. It also makes a great pizza sauce for regular pizza or (my favorite) naan pizza. I wish I had an entire garden of basil because it’s usually so dang expensive. Also, I don’t have a mortal and pestle. I didn’t really think about the fact that the flavors would be different if you make pesto this way, but that makes sense. If/when I ever invest in one, I’ll definitely come back to these instructions!
Lauren @ Health on the Run´s last [type] ..A Quick {Bread} Post
Yumm, thanks for sharing! My BF will love this (he loves pesto). I love pesto on panini’s. I love the flavor with melted cheese on hot bread.. yumm!
Jennifer @ shesafitchick´s last [type] ..Complex Carbs: Not so complex.
Mmmm… I love pesto! I like it on sandwiches and crackers and pasta and just about everything.
Just a tip, I heard you should freeze the pesto without adding cheese. Something about the cheese keeping it from not freezing as well and then add the cheese when you’re ready to use.
Rebecca @ How the Cookies Crumble´s last [type] ..Veggie Lover
That is good to know! I always think the cheese looks so weird when it’s frozen anyway. Thanks!
OMGosh – you have to try the Pesto Chicken and Grape Pizza recipe I found in Cooking Light – it’s ah-mazing.
So crazy – I’ve totally been craving pesto and scouring the internet for some new recipes! I just got some homemade pasta that I think would perfectly complement some pesto and I’m definitely gonna give yours a whirl! Or a grind, in this case (:
Other things that pesto is amazing on = egg sandwiches, english muffins with cheese, pizza and bruschetta!
Ohhhh I love pesto and have always wanted to make my own!! I found your blog through the many other food/fitness blogs and it’s ADORABLE
Monique@She’s Going The Distance´s last [type] ..What do you do at work??
This is going to be hard to believe but.. I have never had pesto before. Ever. Is it possible to make a pesto without cheese? What in the world would I use it for/with?
WHAT??? That is terrible. It’s amazing. And yes, you could totally leave out the cheese! Most of the flavor comes from the garlic and basil anyway. Read all the comments for suggestions – sandwiches, pasta, pizza, anything!
Pesto is great on roasted potatoes. It also makes a great topping on veggie mush (essentially whatever you’ve got fried up in butter + rice). My cousin makes an obscene amount of pesto to sell at market in the summer but the entire farm smells so amazing from all the basil.
Alex @ IEatAsphalt´s last [type] ..(Better than Martha’s) Blueberry Banana Muffins
Putting pesto on top of bread is fantastic!
I love pesto in my veggie sandwiches, omelettes and pretty much anywhere.
Michelle @ Give Me the Almond Butter´s last [type] ..Foodie Journal
Yum! Try it on a fried egg sandwich. Or pasta of course. Or pizza.
Lia´s last [type] ..Summer chopped salad
I love using Pesto as a maranade. It’s great on chicken and tofu. I imagine it would be equally as good on some salmon or any fish. It’s also Faboo on sandwiches…. Mmmmm pesto!
Miranda @ Mirandasjeans´s last [type] ..Holy Guacamole
great idea to use it with tofu! I didn’t think of that!
My boyf has been obsessed with his herbs recently…so we have sooooo much basil to use. I think some pesto is in order for tomorrow so thanks for the recipe lady!
Claire´s last [type] ..two bits of bad news = two delicious breakfasts
I hope you like it!
Yay, pesto! I love it. Especially on gnocchi, which is a top 5 food for me. The only bad thing is how it seems to stay stuck in my teeth and on my breath for about two entire days after…
I adore homemade pesto. Thanks to your husband for revealing the family secret. I’ll have to give it a whirl..