Basil walnut pesto - an illustrated how to prepare

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The basil and garlic did well enough this year to make and can several jars of pesto. We skip a year sometimes if the basil is not abundant but most years this is one of the things we do to preserve the flavors of summer.
A sinkful of basil is washed, the stems are removed
and then the leaves are washed twice more.

This 1.5 pound hunk of Parmesan cheese was cut and put into the food processor and ground.



That hunk of cheese made 4 cups ground. Then, a 2 pound bag of walnuts went into the food processor, one pound at a time, with enough olive oil to make a walnut paste.


The walnut-olive oil paste was removed from the food processor, into the same bowl as the chopped cheese.







Garlic is a personal thing - we like lots. Remove the skins and put into the food processor bowl

On top of the garlic, we fill the food processor bowl with basil leaves and add a few tablespoonfuls of lemon juice and a teaspoon of salt.

The lemon juice and salt add the acid you need for safe canning.
Repeat until all the basil and garlic are ground with lemon juice and salt.

Combine all the ingredients and taste. Add salt as needed. We used  1-tablespoon salt for the entire batch.

Each clean, sterilized, jar is filled to below the rim and topped with a tablespoon of olive oil.

If you put too much pesto in the jars, they will not seal so be a little skimpy.

Boiling water bath is next. Since the pesto is not hot when it goes into the jars, put the filled jars into enough hot water to cover them and turn the water on high heat. It can take as much as 45 minutes for the water to come to a boil, depending on the amount of water and number of jars.

After the water boils, set a timer for 15 minutes.

When the canned pesto has been in boiling water for 15-minutes, remove the jars and set them aside to cool.

Wash the jars with soapy water, remove the rings and store in a cool, dark cabinet. If any of the jars did not seal (the tops are still not popped down) put them into the refrigerator and use them first.


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