Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Begin with completed prepared and dried walnuts. Measure the cool halves and pieces. Wash the basil as needed, dry the leaves, remove tough stems, and measure loose cups. Peel the garlic and measure the olive oil.
- Fit the chopping blade into the Ninja BN801 Precision Processor bowl. Add the garlic, walnuts, basil, and measured olive oil, adding the measured basil in portions if needed to stay within the bowl fill limits. Secure the lid.
- Pulse in short bursts until the leaves and nuts form a coarse, evenly green paste. Stop the machine before opening or scraping. Scrape loose leaves down, secure the lid, and pulse again only as needed. Keep the oil unheated.
- Taste and stir or briefly pulse in salt and pepper. The pesto should cling to a spoon with little walnut pieces and green flecks. If a looser texture is wanted, stir in a little additional raw olive oil to taste.
- Transfer to a clean covered container. Use raw as a sauce on cooked food after it leaves the heat, or refrigerate promptly. Measure the finished pesto when another recipe specifies an amount.
Notes
Ready walnuts: Begin with completed salt-soaked and dried walnuts. Measure the prepared halves and pieces once completely cool. Their separate soaking and drying time is not included in the pesto preparation estimate.
Timing and yield: Allow about fifteen minutes preparation as a planning estimate. Makes one batch, with no fixed finished cup yield promised. Measure the finished pesto when another recipe requires a specific quantity.
Texture: Pulse to a thick green paste with fine walnut pieces and basil flecks. Stop before scraping. Keep the olive oil unheated. The displayed oil amount is the starting amount; a little additional raw oil may be stirred in to taste for a looser texture.
GAPS: Full GAPS after prepared nuts, raw garlic, and herbs have been introduced. Dairy-free and egg-free, but contains walnuts. Not a nut-free or No-Plant preparation. Prepared and dried pine nuts are the other source nut option at the same displayed nut measure.
Storage: Refrigerate covered and use within three days. Freeze extra promptly in freezer-safe glass containers with half an inch of headroom; label and freeze. Thaw a portion in the refrigerator.
Scaling: 2× doubles all four numeric ingredient amounts and makes two batches worth of pesto. Salt and pepper remain to taste. Process in portions if needed; do not overfill the bowl or let the mixture become warm.