Looking for something to make with your purple basil? How about our easy basil pesto recipe?
This homemade basil pesto recipe is a great alternative to the everyday run of the mill green version.
You will never have to buy store brought pesto again after seeing how easy this is to prepare.
Not only is this recipe super tasty and quick to whip up, like I’m talking literally 10 mins of your life from start to finish, but it is so versatile and can be used in or on pretty much anything your heart desires.
It goes great with so many recipes such as a base on a cauliflower pizza crust, as a salad dressing, as a dip or in our creamy purple pesto fettuccine… the options are endless.
How to Make Purple Basil Pesto
Like I mentioned earlier this is super easy to make. In total prep time to finished purple pesto is around 10 minutes!
Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- 5 cloves garlic
- 3 1/2 cup fresh purple basil leaves
- 3/4 cup toasted almonds
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Juice of one lemon
- Salt and pepper
To get started, add your garlic cloves, fresh basil and toasted almonds in a food processor and blend for around 20 seconds.
Add the grated parmesan cheese and lemon juice and continue to process while slowly pouring in the olive oil.
Once the mixture builds up on the sides of the food processor bowl you’ll want to stop processing and use a spatula to scrape the mixture off the sides. Process again for 20 seconds at a time while repeating the scraping as the mixture builds up on the sides until you have a good consistency and all the basil has been incorporated.
Add salt and pepper to season to taste and pulse a few more times until you’re satisfied with the flavor. Easy!
Easy Homemade Purple Basil Pesto
The purple type of basil has a more subtle and sweeter flavor than its punchy green brother.
This means you can use it with more delicate ingredients without the pesto overpowering the dish.
Plus I love the deep dark color, it’s just so darn pretty.
This pesto will last for up to 3 weeks when kept in an airtight container in the fridge.
Enjoy.
Ingredients
- 5 cloves garlic peeled
- 3 ½ cups tightly packed purple basil leaves picked, washed and dried
- ¾ cup almonds toasted
- 1 cup olive oil
- ½ cup Parmesan finely grated
- juice of one lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the garlic, basil and almonds in the bowl of a food processor and process for around 20 seconds.
- Add the parmesan cheese and lemon juice and continue to process whilst pouring in the olive oil.
- Stop processing and take a spatula to scrape the mixture off the side of the bowl then process again for 20 seconds. Repeat this process of scraping the sides a few times or more until you have a good consistency and all the basil has been chopped.
- Season with salt and pepper and pulse or process a couple more times.
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