Walnut and Basil Pesto

Written by

Nikita Singh

Published on

February 11, 2021
Back to Recipes
Recipes
basil pesto

We’ve twisted this traditional basil pesto recipe by replacing pine nuts with walnuts which are often cheaper and easier to find.

Basil Basics

  • Basil is crucial to certain European cuisines, Italian in particular, but it also features in Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese cooking. 
  • This delicate herb is added at the last moment before serving a dish because cooking destroys its unique flavour. For example, fresh basil leaves are added to pizza after it comes out of the wood-fired oven. 
Walnut and Basil Pesto

Walnut & Basil Pesto

  • 40 g walnuts
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • 60g fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
  • 80g parmesan or grana padano cheese, finely grated
  • 125ml olive oil, plus more for storing
  • salt, to taste
  1. Toast the walnuts in a 150°C oven for 15 mins. Toss the nuts halfway through cooking time. 
  2. Take the nuts out of the oven and let cool. 
  3. Pound the garlic clove with a pinch of salt with a pestle and mortar until it’s a fine paste. 
  4. Add the nuts to the mortar and pound. 
  5. Place the chopped basil, parmesan, and garlic nut mixture into a food processor to blitz. 
  6. Keep the food processor running while slowly pouring in the olive oil. 
  7. Add salt if needed, and then transfer to a serving dish or glass jar. 
  8. If storing for later use, cover the surface of the pesto with extra olive oil. 

More Recipe Ideas

  • Fresh Basil & Tomato Caprese Salad
  • Watermelon, Basil & Feta Salad
  • Creamy Sundried Tomato & Basil Pasta

SHOP HERBS NOW >>

Nikita is a food writer, stylist & recipe developer based in Johannesburg.

Check out Nikita Singh’s blog here

See more of Nikita’s recipes on our site here

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