Pesto Pasta Recipe

Hello!

Okay everyone, if you haven't tried any of my recipes yet, you have to try this one. The other day I had a ridiculous amount of cilantro left over from a dinner party. I bought it for a cheese platter. I cut and hand pressed cilantro and green onion into goat cheese, and it was yummy! The problem is, you only need a small amount, and by the time I was finished making the cheese platter I still had almost all my cilantro left. Oh no.

So I figured out a solution. A homemade pesto. This is possibly the best thing ever. it tasted so fresh and garlicky (yeah be careful! There's a whole lot of garlic in here. In fact you may want to cut it down a bit in the recipe if you're not a garlic fan.) It felt like I was out eating at a restaurant, and that's pretty nice. 

Here's what you need:

*2 cups cilantro

*1 cup parmesan cheese

*1/2 cup oil

*1 tbsp lemon juice

*1/2 cup crushed almonds (sliced almonds)

*2 stalks of green onion, chopped

*2 garlic cloves, chopped

*desired pasta

Here's what you do:

First we're going to make the pesto. Grab a cutting board and knife and let's get started. First pull the leaves off your cilantro. We don't want stems here. Once that's done, bunch them all together and chop them with your knife. It's okay if it's not perfect. This Pesto is not made with a food processor or blender. It's a more natural, chunky take on Pesto. Now put them into a bowl to be mixed with your other ingredients. Now finely chop your green onion and garlic and add those to the bowl as well.

Next we can do the almonds. I have sliced almonds here, because they're easier to work with, but you can chop up whole almonds too. Put your sliced almonds in a Ziploc bag. Close it up. And now smash them up with a spoon (or your hand.) Once the pieces are crushed up, add them to the bowl too. Next add the rest of your pesto ingredients - parmesan cheese, oil and lemon juice.

Alright, that's done. Just mix that all up and taste. If it's not to your liking, adjust to your tastes. 

But I promise you, it tastes amazing! You'll like it.

Lastly, cook your pasta and drain. Once it's ready, add your pesto on top and serve.

Best dinner ever.

Marissa xo

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