Microgreen Pesto

Ingredients:

A nice pile of microgreen basil, typically the product of a full tray.

2 cloves of garlic

one small handful of raw pine nuts

about 1/2 cup Parmesan, loosely packed and freshly grated

1-2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Using a sharp mezaluna or knife, begin chopping the garlic and about 1/3 of the basil. Continue to add basil and chop until you have a nice fine mince. Then add half of the pine nuts and continue to chop.  Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop. Add half of the Parmesan, chop. Add the rest of the Parmesan, chop. Scrape the mixture together to form a "basil cake" as pictured above.  

Transfer the cake to a small bowl,  then drizzle with the olive oil. You can set this aside in the refrigerator or use right away. Give it a quick stir just before serving to incorporate the oil into the basil mixture.  

As a side note, and I'm sure this would be a blasphemous comment to any Italian grandmother, but I ran out of pine nuts once and substituted slivered almonds. You know what? It was great. The almonds gave it the same nutty texture, and frankly, they're a lot cheaper.  

You can, of course, use this recipe with regular basil as well, it just takes a little more chopping.

I like to eat this with a caprese salad - tomatoes, fresh mozzarella (which is actually pretty fun to make at home, too, but we'll save that for another post), and a good balsamic. Top it with a little extra basil or salad microgreens and it makes an attractive and satisfying appetizer or even a full meal (Rick and I shared this plate for dinner). Pair it with a nice bottle of red and you've got the makings of a great Italian restaurant right in your own home.