Pesto Cream Sauce

Last summer, I picked up a basil plant at my local farmer's market for a mere $2.50. If you've ever bought fresh basil at the store, you know a package is around $2 or more. So this was a great deal. I planted it in a pot on my back deck and it really flourished until around the end of October when the cold got it. I will definitely be getting another one as soon as it gets a bit warmer, as it was great to be able to walk out the door and grab as much fresh basil as I needed. One thing we used it for was this pesto cream sauce to top some pasta. I adapted a pesto recipe and then decided to make it into a cream sauce. It was pretty tasty and I would certainly make it again.

Pesto Cream Sauce

1 cup lightly packed fresh basil

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

2 oz grated fresh parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves

pinch of salt

Toast the pine nuts in a skillet over med/lo heat, about 5 minutes or until you can smell them toasting. Wash and dry the basil leaves and place them in the bowl of your food processor. Add the toasted pine nuts and pulse until you have a coarse paste. Add in the grated parmesan and garlic cloves. Pulse again until all ingredients are uniform. With the food processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil. Taste for seasoning and add the salt if needed. This will make approximately 1/3 cup of pesto. Transfer your pesto to a small saucepan and heat it on medium heat. Add about 1/2 cup of cream. This can be adjusted to your tastes...you can add more or less cream depending on how strong you want the pesto flavor to come through.

Source: adapted from The Pampered Chef Basil Walnut Pesto