Homegrown, Homemade, Homerun Basil Pesto

If you like pesto, you WILL love this trick to kick it up 100 notches. One of my favorite plants to grow in the summertime is basil. Thai, Lettuce, Genovese, Purple, Lemon - I love to incorporate them all into my cooking.

Basil is a common aromatic herb from the mint family. Some health benefits of eating basil include:

•      anti-inflammatory
•      immune boosting
•      liver protecting
•      helps to reduce stress
•      antioxidant 

 This recipe is healthy, delicious and perfect for a snack or meal! 

3 cups basil leaves

1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds

4-5 browned garlic cloves

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 cup organic olive oil

* add salt and fresh ground pepper to your liking* 

I begin by toasting the sunflower seeds. Just drop them into a hot pan and stir around until they have reached the desired toastiness. Remove from pan and let them cool. Next, I drop 4-5 garlic cloves into the same hot pan and get them nice and brown. Your kitchen will be smelling wonderful at this point! 

While the sunflower seeds and garlic cool, I pluck the basil leaves off of the stem and place them into my food processor. 

After I finish plucking, I move on to adding the parmesan cheese and olive oil. 

I toss in the remaining ingredients, (cooled sunflower seeds and garlic,) into my food processor and begin the mixing process. 

The key to giving it an added burst of flavor is the toasting of the sunflower seeds and browning of the garlic. Enjoy your fresh pesto on a slice of sourdough bread with a juicy tomato! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do.