Walnut Pesto

The first time I had pesto was when my dad and I went on a hiking trip in Moab, Utah. Moab is a town in the middle of nowhere, and it's famous for Arches National Park. We hiked several trails while there and saw lots of arches. We ate dinner at one of the few local restaurants, and I ordered smothered nachos for dinner. They were gourmet nachos and had sundried tomato pesto and pine nuts sprinkled on them. I ate them like they were going out of style. Until....

I started feeling like my throat was swelling. Then I started getting itchy bumps on my lips. I told my dad (who thankfully is a doctor) that I thought I was getting strep throat. He immediately knew what was going on and closed out our check. We went to the pharmacy, and I doped up on Benadryl. By the time we got back to our hotel, I was covered in hives, wheezing, and throwing up. I remember saying that I wouldn't even wish this on my worst enemy. It was that bad!  The Benadryl kicked in eventually, and my inhaler was my best friend that night. By the morning, I was pretty much back to normal (except for the hangover from all the Benadryl).

Fast forward to a year down the road. My dad and I were eating at a restaurant in San Francisco. Even though we thought my allergy was from pine nuts, we weren't 100% sure. He ordered a salad topped with pine nuts, and I got brave (or stupid) and bit off a tiny portion of one pine nut. Sure enough, my body reacted with a swollen throat, itchy lips, wheezing, and my nose was completely closed up. Thankfully I didn't get hives all over my body like the first time, but I also only bit off a portion of of a pine nut during this test. After this test, I was 100% sure I had a pine nut allergy.

All of this to say that I can't ever order anything with pesto in it when I go out to eat. More than likely it will be made with pine nuts. However, nothing can stop me from having pesto at home. Made with walnuts instead of pine nuts, I can still get the flavor without my life literally being put in danger.

This recipe uses 3 cups of packed fresh basil, so this is a great way to trim your flourishing basil bush. It also freezes well. I put tablespoonfuls into each compartment of an ice tray and made pesto cubes. Once frozen, I placed all the cubes in a freezer bag. Freeze several batches throughout the summer so you can have fresh pesto during the winter months.

Walnut Pesto

Ingredients:
3 small cloves garlic
3 cups packed fresh basil
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, or more if you like it thinner
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted until golden and cooled
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a food processor, pulse the garlic until minced. Combine basil and about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil inside the food processor, and blend into a paste. Add the walnuts, Parmesan cheese, and the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Add more oil if you want a thinner consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze into small cubes.

Source: barely adapted from My Baking Addiction