August 22, 2010 by Stacy McDonald
Pecan Pesto
I love to grow herbs, especially basil! Back when we lived in Texas I had what I called a “forest” of it growing in the back yard. The peppery scent was intoxicating! Though we haven’t grown as much out here in the Midwest, we still enjoy our herb garden, with basil being a primary plant.
We use our pesto in numerous ways – tossed in salads, spread on sandwiches, added to homemade salad dressings, or blended into a creamy white sauce. Sometimes I smear it on fish or chicken breasts before grilling, and it adds a particular zing when you roll it up in Chicken Cordon Bleu.
Sometimes I add a few Tablespoons of the fragrant mixture to my rice while it’s boiling to give it a blast of flavor! You can also add it to cream cheese or sour cream; but, one of our favorite ways to enjoy pesto is simply as a dip on pita chips or crackers!
The following pesto recipes has been a family favorite. Instead of pine nuts, we give it a Cajun twist by using pecans! And the best part is that it freezes wonderfully, so you can enjoy it all year long!
Pecan Pesto
1 C. Pecans
1 ½ C. Fresh grated parmesan cheese
3 T. Chopped Fresh Garlic
2 C. Basil Leaves
1 ½ C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Process (pulse) parmesan, garlic, and basil leaves in food processor 1-2 minutes or until mixture is well chopped and blended. With the processor running, add olive oil in a slow steady stream until mixture resembles a paste. Season to taste using salt and pepper. Do not over process as the basil will darken and appear unappetizing. Will store in refrigerator for 3 weeks in a glass jar. Freezes well!
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10 Responses to “Pecan Pesto”
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I love to grow my own herbs. Thyme, rosemary, sage, chives, cilantro and basil are my favorites. They are easy to grow and beautiful to look at. Just watering them can be a treat as the aromas are released. Fresh herbs are very expensive! My sister grows a variety in a pot and uses them all the time in her cooking. I however have an “herb” bed. I have not made my own basil.
This sounds wonderful. I’ll tr it wit pecans. Since we live in Texas, it is our native “nut”. :) love ‘em.
Gwyn Rosser @ The Pink Tractor
Yum! I love pesto… and always looking for ways to make it a little more cheaply – pine nuts seem to be SO expensive here in IA and I’m thinking I can find a deal on pecans! Thanks for sharing!
This looks D’lish! We love our herb garden. This year we planted Bergemont and Chamomile for the first time with hopes of drying them for tea!
I love pesto, and your recipe sounds delicious; thank you for sharing! I’ve enjoyed it many of the same ways as you. Recently I’ve used it as a dressing for a bowtie pasta salad. I add fresh parmesan and sometimes black olives. I have also used it on sandwiches, a must try!!
Thanks again :)
This is my first year to have a garden of any kind and I do have plenty of basil to work with. Is there any way to preserve this, or any, pesto such that it can be given as a gift/part of a gift basket? I have never made pesto before, though it sounds wonderfully simple and I could almost smell your recipe just reading it!
Growing your own basil! Now, that would make pesto cost effective. (We have a so many huge trees, we don’t have any sunlight in the yard to grow anything edible) I tried making pesto with store-bought fresh basil. Cost more than buying it in the jar!
I love the smell! A friend of mine used to wipe the leaves across her neck. Said it turned her hubby on. (Or made him crave Italian food, one of the two.) LOL !
Oh, I’m so glad you shared this. I have my own basil and wanted to make pesto, but have been waiting to find pine nuts, but now I will go ahead with the pecans.
Blessings/See you at the Reformation Faire
Rhonda Devine
I see you have your pesto in jars. Do you can yours? I have made pesto twice now with a recipe at pickyourown.org but they say you shouldnt can it because of the oil or something so I have only frozen it. Their recipe uses 2cups of packed leaves and that was a ton of leaves. I made sure to grow more basil this year. I also had a hard time with their recipe because it only called for a very small amount of oil which made it hard to blend. I look forward to trying yours (and the pecan version sounds cheaper).
Thanks for posting this!
Thanks so much for this recipe!
This sound so good to me….I think I will plant a bit more basil that I thought I would plant.