Zingy Pesto With Mixed Italian Herbs And Walnuts

   I'd eat Pesto on just about anything, pasta being my favorite...but it's also great on a hot grilled steak, fried eggs, salad, bread, and grilled veggies. It's fresh, earthy, and melty. It comes together quickly in a food processor. A good pesto has a mix of lots of herbs, something crunchy like a nut, cheese, and a good olive oil. Now traditional pesto made with basil and pine nuts is delicious, but I like to mix mine up. I also like to use the herbs I have in the garden. Herbs can be so easy to grow and the best gardening to start out with. They can easily grow in window sills and pots for the smaller porch gardener. It’s one of the easiest things to start out with garden-wise and fun to have your kids help out with. Anyways, make this sauce and serve over anything your heart desires. Above I serve it over brown rice/quinoa pasta with fresh grated Parmesan.

Ingredients:

   *I wouldn't recommend using dried herbs here because they are way stronger and can be bitter since they won't be cooked. You basically want to be using two cups of the fresh herbs you have on hand, basil being numero uno. 

•  1  cup of fresh basil (roughly)
• A couple sprigs of rosemary with the stem removed
• 1 T fresh oregano (because oregano is strong)
• 2 T fresh thyme (lemon thyme is my personal fave)
• Sometimes I'll use some pineapple sage or a different type of basil for extra flavor
• 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup Parmesan plus a little extra for sprinkling on top
• 1/2 cup-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (the kind I buy at Aldi is only $4!)

Directions:

This sauce comes together rather quickly. If you're grilling or pouring over pasta, you can make it while everything else is cooking. You can even put it together while the grilled meat rests. 

1. In a food processor pour in your oil, sea salt, and garlic cloves. Pulse garlic, salt, and oil on and off for about a minute. I like the garlic to be more blended and smaller than the herbs. That's why I add it first.
2. Next add in everything else. 
3. Pulse on and off every 5-10 seconds for another minute or two. 
4. Pour over your hearts desire. 

   *I love to dip warm crusty bread in it or let it get all melty over a hot steak, but it's also perfect in pasta with parm. over top. It'll keep in the fridge for up to a week, but you can also freeze for a couple of months. I'm sure you've seen the trick where you freeze in an ice cube tray online, but if you haven't look it up. It's really helpful for popping in a saute pan to cook up some shrimp too. So many options, but I'd love to know if you like it. Thanks for reading!