Basil and macadamia pesto

Summer is the time for basil, and a good pesto is one of summer’s true delights!

We just found a brilliant recipe  for a scrumptious basil and macadamia pesto, shared by NSW macadamia farmer Martin Brook:

• 1/3 cup of roasted and salted macadamias (we used raw unsalted macadamias)
• 1 cup of loosely packed basil leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1/4 cup of good parmesan
• 1/4 cup of macadamia oil (if you didn’t have this you could use olive oil – but the maca oil is delicious!)
• 1 tbs of fresh lemon juice

Simply pop all the ingredients into a food processor and blend. We also added a bit of salt and pepper at the end after tasting. It was delicious mixed through pasta and makes about 1 cup of pesto, enough for about 4 servings, depending on how much pesto you like on your pasta!

As we enjoyed this recipe so much, we went on to made a big batch! Some we stored in jars in the fridge (with a layer of olive oil on top to help prevent browning) for use over the next couple of weeks. For longer term storage we popped some into ice cube trays in the freezer.

Do you have a favourite pesto recipe, or way to enjoy basil?

Comments

[mavis]

Oh boy! I'm in trouble. I can't wait to make this! :)

[Jason Dingley]

We have plenty of Basil growing, so this recipe is just what the doctor ordered. Good to see pesto without pine nuts, they are quite expensive compared to other nuts.

[Darren (Green Change)]

We didn't have any luck with basil this year, but fortunately a neighbour dropped a bottle of pesto off to us a couple weeks ago. Our macadamias are fruiting (nutting?!) right now, so I'll have to get some basil and give this recipe a go!

[farmer liz]

I make this one too, except I start with nut in shells and instruct my husband to crack them for me..... so its a lot of work for a little pesto, but I have an abundance of basil once again, so we may have to get cracking :)