Right now, there are two things I have plenty of in my garden. They are tomatoes and basil. So a wonderfully delicious way to use both is in a caprese salad topped with a homemade pesto. This is traditional basil pesto, but there are many varieties of it and I love trying new recipes for pesto. This traditional pesto is so fresh and yummy, it is good tossed with pasta, served on bread, or chicken or fish. The caprese salad itself is as simple as it can be. It is sliced fresh tomatoes, sliced fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, and a balsamic reduction or vinaigrette. Today, I just drizzled a little balsamic vinegar on it because I topped the salad with the pesto. Oh my goodness, this was tasty!
Here's what you need for the pest0:
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 large clove of garlic, minced
3/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup pine nuts or walnut pieces
salt and pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
Place the basil, garlic, cheese, and nuts in a food processor. Season with a little salt and pepper. Blend until a coarse mixture forms. With the machine running, gradually stream in the olive oil and blend until the pesto has emulsified. You are going to love having fresh pesto instead of store-bought...there is no comparison in my book. Enjoy!