Easy Pesto and Fettuccine

I've got a lot of basil growing in the garden and was looking for a way to use it.  I found this recipe for Easy Pesto on allrecipes.com and changed it a little after reading some of the comments.

Easy Pesto

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup almonds
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
• 2 T Parmesan
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Place almonds on a pie plate, and bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted.
2. In a food processor, combine toasted almonds, garlic, basil, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Process, adding olive oil until a coarse paste is formed.  (The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of olive oil, but I didn't measure, just added a little at a time until I got the desired consistency.)

To serve, cook 1/2 box (8 oz.) fettuccine as directed on the package.  Reserving 3/4 cup of the pasta water, drain the fettuccine and then toss it with 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, the pesto and a diced tomato or two.  If the sauce seems too thick, add more of the reserved pasta water.

Serve with additional Parmesan and grilled chicken, if desired.

• Print this recipe

Related articles by Zemanta

• Zucchini Pesto Recipe (rawlivingfoods.typepad.com)
• Presto Pesto (thegreengirls.com)