Walnut Parsley Pesto

I really love pestos. They're so easy, so delicious, and completely customizable. Traditionally when we think of pesto, we think of basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. However, you can make pesto out of any combination of herbs, cheese, olive oil, and nuts. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Sun dried tomatoes, garlic, basil, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil.
• Roasted red peppers, garlic, oregano, asiago cheese, and olive oil.
• Artichokes, chives, garlic, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil.
• Arugula, pine nuts, garlic, lemon zest, cracked black pepper, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil.

You get the point! Gather some ingredients that taste great together, puree them into a smooth paste, then toss with warm pasta. Today I made a walnut parsley pesto.

Walnut Parsley Pesto
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tbsp dried parsley)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
1 lb linguine (or fettuccine, spaghetti, etc)

• Combine the walnuts, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil in a food processor.
• Puree until smooth.
• Cook the pasta until al dente making sure to add plenty of salt to the water.
• Once the pasta is cooked, strain it then immediately transfer to a bowl. While the pasta is still hot, add the pesto and toss until all of the noodles are coated.

This makes a great side dish for grilled chicken, steak, or fish. Today I happened to be making this for lunch. I separated it into 4 portions and placed them into plastic containers that I can just grab when I'm on my way out the door to work!

Note: if you only have raw walnuts, you can toast them by adding them to a dry saute pan over medium heat. When the nuts start to release their aroma, swirl the nuts around in the pan. Once they are golden brown, remove them from the pan. You don't want to take your eye off of this for one single second! The nuts could burn in a matter of seconds. And burned nuts smell... bad..