Water and lemon juice are the magic ingredients I’ve been missing in my homemade pesto sauce all this time! Seriously, I was wondering why my pesto always turns out so thick and clumpy, but never thought to add water or lemon juice. They sure made a big difference though Today my pesto was much easier to mix into the pasta.
Pesto Sauce with Basil and Walnuts
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 C. packed fresh basil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 heaping Tbsp. walnuts
- 3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
- 1-1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp. salt, plus more if needed (I ended up using 1/8 tsp. more)
- 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (or until desired consistency)
- 3 Tbsp. water (or until desired consistency)
Instructions:
- Combine fresh basil, garlic, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and salt in a food processor. Pulse/chop a few times until all the basil, garlic and walnuts are chopped into pretty small bits.
- Slowly pour in olive oil (preferably while the food processor is going). Then slowly add the water, again, while the food processor is on. You should get a nice thick, pour-able pesto sauce.
- Transfer the pesto to a dish, and feel free to add a little more salt, lemon juice, Parmesan or oil as desired. I sometimes like stirring in a little extra oil at the end.
This pesto is great as a pasta sauce, chicken sauce or a sandwich spread (like in this GRILLED CHEESE PESTO SANDWICH)
*Inspired by THIS recipe.
Summary
Recipe Name
Pesto Sauce
Jill
Published On
Average Rating
Based on 2 Review(s)