Serves: 5
Total Calories: 298

2 1/2 cups fresh basil
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts (can substitute with walnuts)
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
2 tablespoons softened butter

Put basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and salt into a blender of food processor. Beat in the softened butter. Process to a creamy consistency. Pour sauce into a small bowl. Add Parmesan cheese and Romano cheese. Mix to blend. Makes 1 cup of sauce. Serve over pasta. When serving pesto with pasta, leave about a tablespoon or two of the cooking water on the pasta when draining and toss the pasta with the pesto sauce. Pesto is also good as an addition to soups, either stirred into a soup such as minestrone, or as a spoonful melting in individual bowls of soup. It is also great on gnocchi. *If you plan to freeze the sauce, add the cheese after the sauce has thawed.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 5
Total Calories: 298
Calories from Fat: 277

More Recipes from the Cook'n Italian Cookbook:
Basic Butter Cream Sauce
Basic Tomato with Garlic Sauce
Creamy Gorgonzola Sauce
Garlic and Tomato Sauce
Meat Sauce
Sweet & Sour Sauce
The Best-o-Pesto Sauce
The Worlds Best Spaghetti Sauce
Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
Tomato Sauce, Bolognese Style
Tomato sauce with bacon
Why-not Walnut Sauce