Makes 2 cups
2 cups basil leaves and small stems
½ cups raw walnuts
½ cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste
PURE AND AUTHENTIC METHOD:
Pound by hand in a mortar or suribachi bowl –
1. Start with walnuts and garlic, pound with pestle to make a paste.
2. Add basil leaves by small handfuls, continuing to pound and grind in the mortar, adding small amounts of olive oil as needed.
3. Transfer to med bowl or jar. Add remaining olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper
CONVENTIONAL METHOD:
1. Puree basil, nuts, garlic and a minimal amount of oil in a food processor.
2. Transfer to a medium size bowl.
3. Add remaining olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper
*Pesto is best used the same day, but will keep in the refrigerator for a few days with a thin layer of olive oil on top, tightly covered; or freeze for up to 2 months.
Toss with vegetables or gluten free rice pasta!
--We recently purchased a mortar and pestle so I'm pretty damn excited to give this a try. I can't wait to try brown rice pasta and I feel like if the texture is anything like white rice pasta (which is kind of doughy and chewy-- amazing in sweet and salty Thai food, but kind of weird to put pasta sauce on) this will serve as a delicious topper for it.
