Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

“secret ingredient” frugal pesto

(1 rating)
Recipe by
Lynn Clay
Portland, OR

This recipe is from An Oregon Cottage. Found while looking for a recipes for Culinary Quest 2014. It has a secret ingredient that makes it cheaper to make.

(1 rating)
yield 1 1/4 Cups
prep time 20 Min
method No-Cook or Other

Ingredients For “secret ingredient” frugal pesto

  • 5-6 clove
    garlic, peeled
  • 1/4 c
    sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 c
    grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 1/2 c
    lightly packed basil leaves, washed and dried
  • 1 Tbsp
    lemon juice (optional, but seems to keep pesto a brighter green after opening)
  • 3/4 c
    olive oil (plus more if freezing)
  • 1 tsp
    salt (or to taste)

How To Make “secret ingredient” frugal pesto

  • 1
    Pulse garlic in a food processor until minced. Add seeds and cheese, pulse a few times to chop, and then add the basil and continue to process until all is finely chopped. Add lemon juice, if using.
  • 2
    With the machine running, add the oil in a fine stream. Process until pesto is smooth. Add salt to taste (less will be needed if using salted sunflower seeds).
  • 3
    To store in the freezer, pour about 1/2 cup into containers, add a shallow layer of olive oil to the tops, label with date and freeze. Keeps for about a year, if it lasts that long.

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