Homemade Basil Pesto

In South Africa and the Netherlands, I have loved nothing more than a fresh pesto pasta. I remember the delicious Food Lovers Market in Town, always made the best. I could literally eat it everyday.

I share this story because while most foods I ate in South Africa are non-existent in my diet today, there are certain dishes that you will find anywhere in the world.

Of course, no dish I recommend comes without a funny story, so I thought I would share my misunderstanding of the word "pesto". Being as ignorant as I am, I initally thought pesto was the delicious basil and garlic mixture that Karabo from food lovers put in my pasta. Once moving to the Netherlands, I came across an Italian restuarant and you know me, the creature of habit. I confidently ordered the pesto pasta and when it came, it was red. Turns out pesto does not meal basil in Italian, in actual fact it means crushed.

Now I know better, but regardless basil pesto is something you find easily and abundantly all over the Netherlands, but when I visited South Africa and wanted to show off my new found cooking skills, I could not find a fresh alternative to the preserved jars.

It is with this is in mind that I would like to share this recipe, so those I love can have a little taste of my favorite food.

As most of my reciepes , you will find that this one is easy to make and takes 10 minutes. Feel free to add and remove ingredients as you see fit.

South African Ingredients

• 80g of fresh basil leaves

• 1 garlic head

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1 teaspoon of pepper

• 1/3 cup of olive oil

• 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds (optional)

• 1 teaspoon of parmesan cheese (optional)

  
  

Netherlands Ingredients:

• 80g of fresh basil leaves

• 1 garlic head

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• 1 teaspoon of pepper

• 1/3 cup of olive oil

• 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds (optional)

• 1 teaspoon of parmesan cheese (optional)

Basil leaves and garlic, the key ingredients in basil pesto

Instructions:

1. Prepare all your ingredients, cleaning the garlic cloves and removing the stems from the basil leaves.

   

   Freshly prepared ingredients

   
   

2. Add your basil leaves, garlic cloves, salt, pepper and sesame seeds and parmesan cheese into a blender.

   

   All basil pesto ingredients in the blender

   
   

3. Add the olive of the olive oil to the mixture, mix the olive oil into the leaves.

   

   1/3 cup of olive oil

   
   

4. Blend all ingredients to your desired consistency. I intended to use this batch for my pasta and so I made it slightly more smooth, but feel free to stop before this point.

   

   Processed basil pesto

Variations:

Sesame seeds and Parmesan Cheese

I used sesame seeds to add a crunch to the texture, but if this is not something you enjoy , this is not essential to add. These are typically up to your preference and adds a slightly different taste to it, but a more traditional pesto would not include these.

Vegan Friendly Options

Removing the parmesan cheese from this mixture makes it vegan friendly.

Olive Oil

Pesto is made traditionally with olive oil, but I understand that adding a significant amount of olive oil all the time can be quite pricey. You can therefore substitute other oils. Olive oil is preferred but not necessary, I have substituted in sunflower oil once and it tasted similar of course not the same. Also, the oil consistency is different leading to an overall different texture.

Hope you enjoy it!