I bought a basil plant in April, which I was thankful it bloomed. I decided it was time to use some of the basil leaves. This recipe only requires a few ingredients. However, if you are making this for a group, you will need to multiply my recipe/measurements. Try this as a side dish for your Thanksgiving feast.

*If you recreate my recipe, please don’t forget to tag me on social media, comment, and #ivyskitchen. Spread the love so others can enjoy my recipes. =)

Serving size: 4 people

Ingredients:

1/4 cup pine nuts

6 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 garlic clove grated

3 cups of basil

6 tbsp of your best extra virgin olive oil (or more depending on your preference)

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup of Rotelle Pasta

1/4 cup diced shallots

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes chopped

1-2 tbs mayo (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Lay pine nuts on a baking sheet. It is optional to add a little bit of non-flavored cooking oil. I sprayed a little bit of olive oil on my pine nuts (not shown on the video).
2. About half way cooking (depending on your oven, this can take 2-4 minutes), take your pine nuts out and shake the tray, to ensure even toasting. You will need to keep an eye on your pine nuts so they won’t burn. It took me a total of 6 minutes to toast my pine nuts, but it took me 8 minutes the first time I toasted the pine nuts.
3. Let your pine nuts cool and grate your Parmesan cheese.
4. In a food processor, grate your garlic. Do not use more than 2 cloves of garlic if you don’t want a garlicky pesto sauce.
5. Add your pine nuts and blitz until well ground.
6. Add your cheese and blitz until mixture forms a paste that is sort of like “moist sand”.
7. Add basil and salt. Close your food processor and slowly add your olive oil until pesto is nice and smooth. If you want an oily based pesto, add more oil.
8. In a pot, bring water to a boil and salt it. Drop pasta in and cook according to package instructions. Drain water when pasta is ready.
9. To the pasta, add shallot, sun dried tomatoes, and pesto sauce. Mix until well combined.
10. You can serve as is or add mayo. I like my pesto creamy, so I added mayo to mine.

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