Basil Pesto

I love Italian food. What makes Italian food so good?! The different sauces they use. This is one of my favorite sauces- basil pesto! Although the sauce itself has only 5 ingredients (which I love!), each ingredient brings something special to the recipe. The basil is super fragrant and fresh, the parmesan gives the sauce a good punch of saltiness and flavor, the walnuts/pine nuts give so much richness, the crushed red pepper gives it that little kick and the extra virgin olive oil brings everything together! The ways you can use this pesto are endless. Mix with your favorite pasta and veggies, have it with some really good Italian bread, spread it on sandwiches, mix it in your tomato soup. One sauce- SO many options. All of them, delicious!

Ingredients
- 2 cups packed fresh basil
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 TSP crushed red pepper
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- 1/3 cup walnuts or pine nuts

Directions
- Heat a small pan to medium heat and toast walnuts or pine nuts for about 3-4 minutes. Let cool.
- Place basil leaves, crushed red pepper, parmesan and walnuts/pine nuts in a food processor.
- Process, and at the same time drizzle the extra virgin olive oil until all ingredients are fully combined.
- Taste for seasoning, if salt is needed add 1/4 TSP at a time.

Serving size- makes about 1-1/4 cup of pesto.

Storing suggestions- if you haven't used all the pesto and want to keep it for another day, store in a air tight container and drizzle a couple of TBSP of extra virgin olive oil to preserve. Refrigerate.