[berryblondeboys]

One of my really good friends devised this and I stole it. Way yummy and poeple keep requesting the recipe. And EASY.

Take one of those big organic basil packages from whole foods or the regular grocery store (like A BIG pack). take all the leaves and put them in a food processor. Open two cans of chick peas/garbanzo beans, drain them and then add to teh food processor. Add a couple cloves of garlic (without skins), and small handful of parmesan cheese (you can omit if you like) and then enough olive oil to your liking/consistency while you pulse it to a smooth mixture, scraping down as needed. Salt to taste.

We LOVE this with veggies and bread. We tried it once on pasta and it's not as yummy, but not bad, but better as a dip.

I'm going to go make some now!

Oh, and it freezes well, so divvy it up in a few containers and freeze. Or, if in summer, you have a crop of basil, don't let it go to waste, blend it with olive oil and freeze to be used later for meals (or this dip).

Hope this helps someone!

[oodlesofnoodles]

That sounds AMAZING. Thanks for the recipe! I can eat my body weight in pesto. How much olive oil do you use though? That stuff adds up quick on cals, and if this stuff is as good as you say it is, I could probably eat the whole batch in one sitting. =\

[berryblondeboys]

Originally Posted by oodlesofnoodles

That sounds AMAZING. Thanks for the recipe! I can eat my body weight in pesto. How much olive oil do you use though? That stuff adds up quick on cals, and if this stuff is as good as you say it is, I could probably eat the whole batch in one sitting. =\

That is totally up to you. This would make a big batch. I freeze portions of it. I tastes fine with NO olive oil, just smooths it out with more. I probably put 5-6 tablespoons in it, but that makes a HUGE bowl of it and it's still pretty dense, but the flavor is there. That's probably 8 servings? I haven't measured it out before, but I'm making it tomorrow, so I'll be more precise for you, OK?

[ringmaster]

sounds delicious... I love pesto too, so this might be too good and I'll wind up eating the whole thing!

[dj mayhem]

that sounds great, tfs!

[tommy]

Pesto hummus

[oodlesofnoodles]

Originally Posted by berryblondeboys

That is totally up to you. This would make a big batch. I freeze portions of it. I tastes fine with NO olive oil, just smooths it out with more. I probably put 5-6 tablespoons in it, but that makes a HUGE bowl of it and it's still pretty dense, but the flavor is there. That's probably 8 servings? I haven't measured it out before, but I'm making it tomorrow, so I'll be more precise for you, OK?

Sweet, thanks! I'd probably just go easy on the olive oil. My love for pesto seriously knows no bounds. I've been looking for fresh basil so I could make it but I dunno if it's in season. That packaged stuff is so expensive!!

[berryblondeboys]

OK, finally made it. (Our basil for 4 ozs is 3.99. Not bad imo).

Anway, 5 oz of basil (I had a bit left from an older pack, two 15 oz cans (drained) garbanzo beans, 1/4 cup parmesan, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 2/3 cups olive oil.

It makes 4 cups all blended for 4118 calories (YIKES). I divided them into 8 containers, each 1/2 cup serving is 515 calories. 1/4 cup is 257 calories (more than double what hummus' calorie count is). So... yummy yes... easy on the belt... no.

Any ideas on how to halve the olive oil? Water doesn't seem like a great alternative as you don't want it runny, but maybe I should try a bit of water to see how it goes because it's still VERY thick.