recipe reviews for:

Simple Garlic and Basil Pesto

“This recipe is something that you can make quickly and easily using a blender. Everything you need is easy to find in your local supermarket. This paste is great for putting on or in meat and pastas, or with cottage cheese in stuffed pasta shells. Once I start making this, the orders from friends and family keep coming in. For best taste, pesto should be heated up in the meal it's being prepared with.”

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Reviewed: Aug. 25, 2009

A good starter recipe, though I found it bland, having left out the chili powder, which my family doesn't like. To brighten the flavor, I added some fresh lemon juice and some sea salt. Then, it was awesome! I doubled the recipe and froze quite a bit for winter.

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rosenicole

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Reviewed: Aug. 24, 2009

Very good. I also did not have Brazil nuts and substituted walnuts and used half of the amount of olive oil.

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Gretchen

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Aug. 23, 2009

Good recipe. I only used pine nuts and I omitted the chilli powder. My food processor is broken so I tried using a blender, that didn't work so well. I ended up chopping the pine nuts which I had toasted first then putting them in the magic bullet. Turned out great. I'm planning something with the leftovers.

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rfields77

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Reviewed: Aug. 17, 2009

Great recipe! We toasted the pine nuts and brail nuts and put the pesto on some pasta. I have leftovers that I'm planning on using for pizza :)

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Reviewer:

Sara83

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Laguna Niguel, California, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 17, 2009

I served this at a party to a very picky, non-adventurous crowd. When I finally got them to try the pesto on bread, they loved it! Turned out to be the hit of the party!!! I'm definitely going to freeze some for winter enjoyment.

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Barbara

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Reviewed: Aug. 17, 2009

Very good pesto. I did cut the olive oil by 1/4 and just used pine nuts. Made 3 batches to share and freeze. Will enjoy this winter when my basil is all gone! Thanks

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Jenni in Avon

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Avon, Indiana, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 13, 2009

Good base for pesto recipe, I did make a few changes; used less olive oil than called for, toasted the pine nuts until lightly browned over a skillet. Added a little extra garlic, and substituted chili powder for crushed red pepper and omitted the brazilian nuts. I served this with cubed chicken breast and fettucini.

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Danielle

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Aug. 10, 2009

I love this Pesto, I'm so pleased with it. I used it in the Penne with Chicken and Pesto Recipe and made a yummy creamy Pesto sauce with cream, I am just learning to cook and I know I will now make this at least twice a month for my family or maybe once a week, I can't wait to have it again. Love it!

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Sunshine

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Reviewed: Aug. 10, 2009

Really awesome pesto!!! Made it last night...had no brazil nuts so added abit more pine nuts as another reviewer suggested...turned out great!!! Wasnt sure today what I wanted to make with it so I experiemented and it turned out super!!!! (even my husband who doesnt like pesto ate it all!!! I sauteed the vegggies I had available in my fridge (in my case mushrooms, green pepper, onion and celery) I also chopped two medium tomatoes fresh picked from the garden. Mixed all this together with the pesto over low heat. Then I added half a can of whole plum tomatoes really mashing them up.....I also added all the tom juice from the can. Brought all to a boil and then simmered for 15 minutes addoing salt and pepper to taste. Chopped up some leftover plain chicken breast and served the meat and sauce over some fussilli pasta with garlic bread!!! SOOOOOO GOOODDDD!!! thx for the recipe:)

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porchia

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Kanata, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Aug. 7, 2009

This was good, but I would add the garlic a little at a time. I like garlic but I don't like my mouth burning from it! It was very easy to make and my husband really liked it besides the garlic comment. I also did not use as much olive oil.

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kerryg

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Reviewed: Aug. 4, 2009

Add a little salt to bring out the flavors. I don't use quite as much olive oil.

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ladyblug

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Reviewed: Aug. 4, 2009

This recipe was wonderful! I took some of the leftovers to work the next day and everyone commented on how good it looked and smelled! Everyone wanted the recipe...I'll definitely make this again!

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Katherine

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Reviewed: Aug. 3, 2009

This is a great recipe just thought there was a bit too much oil. I cut back on oil and only used pinenuts- came out great.

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Reviewer:

PaigeCentral

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Houston, Texas, USA

Living In: Oegstgeest, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

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Reviewed: Aug. 2, 2009

Pretty good base...but I used just pine nuts, omitted the chili powder as many reviewers suggested, and added a splash of lemon and garlic salt. My husband likes strong flavors...I thought the lemon was a nice addition.

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dklee

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Reviewed: Jul. 29, 2009

This pesto was AWESOME. I omitted all nuts due to allergies in the family, and instead added a bit of chopped sundried tomatoes. Also added a little salt, but otherwise used all ingredients in proportion. I used it as a sauce for a white pizza and my entire family raved.

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jtwizz

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: East Greenville, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: New York, New York, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 27, 2009

Absolutely my favourite so far - used really fresh garlic/added fresh cracked pepper instead of chili powder -used walnuts instead of pine nuts (That's what I had on hand) Try a small stir fry of any combination of zucchini/onion/bell peppers/black olives/chicken tossed with good quality tomato sauce on top of linguine - Add pesto ...red wine... :)

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nobadwine

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Reviewed: Jul. 27, 2009

Really delicious! I toasted the pine nuts and didn't have brazil nuts. Tossed with Penne pasta and grilled chicken.

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annabanana23

Home Town: Dekalb, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Jul. 15, 2009

My kids thought this was too spicy. Our fresh farmers' market basil (green and purple) did have quite a bite, as did the fresh garlic. I mixed in a little cream to soften it and that was really tasty. I didn't have brazil nuts so I used a few walnuts, and I toasted them and the pine nuts first to improve the flavor. I tried the recipe as suggested in the blender to begin with and it just didn't nicely turn into a paste. I finally just dumped everything in and blended, and it took less than a minute. Next time I won't waste 5 minutes with the first step. :)

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POETTE

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Reviewed: Jul. 14, 2009

Thanks for the great recipe. Couldn't be easier. Only change I made was to omit the Brazil nuts and use a little less oil. My garden basil is very aromatic and a litle spicy this year and I found the proportions perfect to marry the flavors to enhance the basil. The consistency was perfect. This is a keeper.

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