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A glass jar with pesto garnished with fresh basil leaves and a spoon in the jar, surrounded with more basil, pine nuts, and pecorino.

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Pecorino Basil Pesto

Recipe by Veronika Sykorova

This Pecorino Basil Pesto is made with pecorino cheese instead of parmesan, which gives it a different, saltier flavor. It comes together in 15 minutes, and it's just as simple and easy as any other pesto! It has a ton of uses like pasta, salads, dips, sandwiches, and more!

  • Total Time14 minutes
  • Yield1 1/2 cup 1x
  • DietGluten-Free

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts
  • 2 cups fresh basil, packed
  • 1/2 tsp lemon zest (optional)
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (1/2-1 lemon)
  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper (use less if preground and fine)
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano*

Instructions

  1. Toast your pine nuts in a small pan over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes until golden brown.
  2. Toss them often to make sure they don't burn. Take them off the heat and set aside while you prepare the rest.
  3. To a food processor, add fresh basil, lemon zest if using, lemon juice, grated garlic, black pepper, and the toasted pine nuts.
  4. Blend until the basil is chopped into tiny pieces and forms a paste. You may need to scrape the sides a couple of times.
  5. While the food processor is running, stream in the olive oil.
  6. Once the olive oil is blended in, add the pecorino and briefly blend again.
  7. Taste and add sea salt or pepper, or more lemon juice if needed.
  8. Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge. 

Notes

Pecorino: I used pecorino romano, which is very salty, so I didn’t add any salt to the pesto. If you use a different cheese like Parmesan or Pecorino Sardo, it may need a pinch of salt because they aren’t as salty.

The nutritional value is only an estimate. The recipe yields approx. 12 servings if you use 2 tbsp per serving.

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 4 mins
  • Category: Condinments
  • Method: Food processor
  • Cuisine: Italian

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Find it online: https://thehealthfulideas.com/pecorino-basil-pesto/