Brown Butter Almond Pesto

Now that the weather is getting nicer, I like to stop at the farmer's market on my way home from work on Fridays. I can almost guarantee that I will walk home with a bag full of fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs. I love cooking with fresh herbs. Two weeks ago I came home with an abundance of basil and knew I wanted to make pasta with pesto sauce, one of my favorite meals.

Yesterday I mentioned my love of almond butter. Yes, I could eat it with a spoon right out of the jar. This Brown Butter Almond Pesto is one of my other favorite uses of almond butter. It is a unique yet delicious take on a more traditional pesto recipe. I love it because it uses two of my very favorite ingredients- brown butter and almond butter. I just love my butters. However, if you don't have any almond butter, you can always just use whole almonds. It will just take a little longer to process the pesto into a creamy consistency. 

Brown Butter Almond Pesto
Recipe from Cooking Classy

2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp almond butter
1/4 cup unsalted butter, browned and cooled
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
3-4 tbsp warm water
Salt and pepper to taste

Add the basil leaves to a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the garlic, Parmesan cheese and almond butter. Process until combined. With the motor still running, add the butter and olive oil. Finally add the lemon juice and enough water to reach desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with pasta or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Basic Basil Pesto

Earlier in the month, I mentioned that I wanted to share more lunch and dinner recipes on Spoonful of Flour. Since I just got a new food processor for Christmas, I wanted to put it to good use and share one of my favorite pesto recipes with you today. I love pesto. Every time my boyfriend and I eat in the North End of Boston, I always order Linguine with Pesto from our favorite Italian restaurant, Beneventos. I should probably branch out more often, but I just love that dish so much. Especially when the meal ends with a cannoli from Mike's Pastry.

Traditional pesto is made with fresh basil and pine nuts. But the fun part is that you can play around with the combination of greens, nuts and even cheeses. For the greens, you can use basil, spinach or arugula. For the nuts, you can you pine nuts, almonds or walnuts. For the cheese, you can use parmesan, ricotta or goat cheese. Honestly, the possibilities are endless and I love playing around with many different combinations. Mix and match depending on what you have in the kitchen! This Basic Basil Pesto is one of my favorites. Because sometimes traditional and basic is best and truly hits the spot. 

Basic Basil Pesto
Recipe from Savory Sweet Life by Alice Currah
Yield: 1 cup

2 cups fresh basil, freshly packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the fresh basil, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor. Process until fully combined. Add the olive oil to the food processor. Pulse a few more times until fully incorporated. The pesto can be stored in a tightly sealed contained in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.