Basil Pumpkin Seed Pesto
The hot July Boston sun and my daily garden moments are definitely showing a return on my gardening love! Our basil plants are so generous right now and, perhaps, trying to make up for all the store-bought basil that withered through the years amidst my cooking hopes? Ha ha – I sincerely wonder.
However, our garden has SO MUCH basil available to harvest each day! I have had to figure out what to do with it. I brainstormed many recipes, read food blogs, and talked with my mom. Finally, I decided on a Laura-original based on what I had in my fridge! A delicious Basil Pumpkin Seed Pesto recipe.
The flavor from our home grown basil is beyond anything I’ve ever purchased in the grocery store so, perhaps, if you are using a more bland, grocery store basil, consider upping the basil quantity used in this recipe. The associated image for this recipe comes from my first iteration of this recipe – with slightly more cheese and pumpkin seeds.
This recipe is the best version, more heavy on the basil side, and will be repeated for years to come in our home.
Basil Pumpkin Seed Pesto
Ingredients
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ teaspoon Himalayan salt
- ¼ black pepper
- 2 cups fresh basil
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more as desired
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Combine the pumpkin seeds, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a food processor until well combined. The texture will be grainy.
- Add the basil and pulse until combined.
- Add the olive oil and continue to blend until combined, and more smooth in texture.
- Add Parmesan, and pulse until you find your desired texture.
Notes
NOTE: For a smoother pesto, add more olive oil.
To serve: consider crackers, or within stuffed chicken or on top of a cream cheese spread
Rob enjoyed this Basil Pumpkin Seed Pesto as a snack atop some Gardetto’s Special Request Garlic Rye Chips, after his return from a week long work retreat. He smiled – I could tell that he really enjoyed it! Based on my samplings, this pesto recipe will also fabulous with stuffed chicken or on top of a cream cheese spread. We hope you enjoy this pesto recipe as much as we do.
Did you try this recipe? What did you think? Comment below!
