Pesto. Pesto, Pesto!

This was my very first attempt in making basil pesto or any type of pesto sauce.  I searched online and found a basic pesto recipe and freezing instructions.  I found the recipe at Simply Recipes, http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fresh_basil_pesto/.

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• Special equipment needed: A food processor (Check Amazon.com's sales on Cuisinart food processors)

Method

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.
Yield: Makes 1 cup.

I do not own a food processor so I used my Magic Bullet (MB) when mixing together the ingredients.  I love using the MB since it can whip up most food processing recipes.  To prepare for the mixing, I picked the basil and washed it.  Then I added all of the ingredients into the cup.  The MB comes with a small or large cup and the blades screw on like a lid.  I used the large cup since I had 1 1/2 cups of basil.  I followed the measurements for each ingredient above except for two.  I included 9 garlic cloves and used a 1/2 cup less of basil.  I love garlic and knew I would be adding in more garlic while mixing and taste testing.  I also omitted salt from the recipe.  Once all of the ingredients were in the cup, I screwed on the lid and placed the cup on the MB motor.  I pressed down a few times in a row and then held down the cup for 10-20 seconds.  I removed the cup, unscrewed the lid and scraped the sides of the cup.  Even though the MB purees the ingredients I wanted to make doubly sure that all of the ingredients were mixed up nicely.  I repeated the mixing and scraping a few times until I reached a vibrant light green color.

It was recommended that I use ice cube trays to freeze any unused pesto.  I do not own any ice cube trays so I used a popsicle trays instead.  I lined each popsicle slot with clear food wrap.  I then spooned in the pesto.  I have placed the popsicle tray in the freezer.  Once all of the pesto is frozen I will remove the pesto cubes from the tray and place them into a freezer bag.  As for the freshly made pesto, I decided to toss the 6 tablespoons of sauce with pasta, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and whole pine nuts.  I will be taking the pasta to a picnic tomorrow.  I hope everyone likes it!