Pesto: Messy, Green and Delicious

I have a love/hate relationship with pesto.  The hate part stems from this:

You may not be able to tell but he's not wearing a shirt...and under that bib?  More green stuff.  It's on his arms and legs too.  His brother puts some in his hair for good measure.  BUT!  They love this stuff.  They shovel the little noodles into their mouths as fast as possible.  So I continue to feed it to them, but only on bath night (every other night at Four Pears).  They go straight from the highchair into the tub.  

Now for something I love about pesto?  I love that we have a seemingly endless supply of basil in the back yard. Say hello to the basil bush.  

Just like everything else in this houseshold, there are two of them.  This picture was taken AFTER I cut 3 cups of basil leaves off.  If I didn't trim the basil, I'm pretty sure it would take over the yard.  And its planted in rocks!  Who knew basil loved the hot desert sun so much?  Anyways...yeah, we make pesto almost every week.

We use an Ina Garten recipe (who else?) but substitute pistachios for the pine nuts so we don't bankrupt ourselves.  This sauce is so fresh and delicious!  It freezes well too; just put a thin layer of olive oil over the top of the sauce before storing.  I plan to stock the freezer so we can enjoy some in the winter when the basil bush finally dies...  It will die right?  

Homemade Pesto, adapted from Ina Garten

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

3 tablespoons chopped garlic

5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups olive oil

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Put the pistachios and garlic into the food processor and process for about 30 seconds.  Next add the basil, salt and pepper to the machine.  Using a funnel, or a steady hand! slowly pour in the olive oil while the machine is running.  Continue to run the machine until everything is pureed and incorporated.   Lastly, add the parmesan cheese and process again for a minute or so.  Serve at room temperature or over hot pasta.  And feel free to eat it with your fingers! :)