Basic Pesto with four variations.

Basic Ingredients

50g pine nuts or walnuts
20g fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove, pressed (can be left out)
75ml olive oil

Toast the nuts in the oven on 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 or on a medium pan, until golden brown and allow to cool.
Combine nuts, garlic and olive oil in food processor and pulse for a few times till you get a grainy consistency.
Ad the Basil and pulse for a few times till you get wanted consistency.

Variation one:
100g Lactofree soft white cheese
Just mix in with the pesto and season with salt and pepper, for a creamy pesto.

Version two:
100g Lactofree semi hard cheese
Blend the cheese in the food processor before making the pesto and set aside.
Mix together and season with salt and pepper, for a more traditional pesto.

Version three:
50g Lactofree semi hard cheese
50g Lactofree soft white cheese
Salt and pepper
Follow version two and combine all three and season with salt and pepper at the end, for at pesto that is creamy but with a bit more flavour from the semi hard cheese.

Version four:
25ml olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt and Pepper
Ad the olive oil and season with lemon juice and salt and pepper, for a pesto dressing, good for salads.

Tip: I quite often make a big portion of the basic Pesto recipe and freeze it in an ice cube container, for easy portion control. Just pop one or a few out when needed, thaw and mix with cheese or make as a dressing.