Myra’s Dionysus Pesto Recipe

Fresh basil, sunflower seeds and Romano cheese in a pesto for pasta.

One year my brother planted basil plants all along the driveway and all around my mother’s house. I believe that he had started a bunch of seeds and they all come up, and he didn’t want to throw any away. Myra had SO MUCH BASIL! That’s when she started putting Pesto on the menu all year round. She made quarts of pesto and put it in the freezer.

Myra used sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts, which are more common in pesto. I also learned that there are quite a few people who are allergic to pine nuts, who love being able to eat pesto. It’s a win-win situation!

I grow basil in the summer and before the first frost, I make a batch of pesto and put it in my freezer. Put a little extra olive oil on top before you freeze it. It keeps better that way.

Remember, you don’t just have to mix it with pasta. I have also put it on a pizza, mixed some in bread dough, and spooned some in chicken soup! It always smells like summer no matter what time of year it is.

Myra’s Pesto

Fresh basil with sunflower seeds and Romano cheese

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Course Entrees and Favorite Rice Combinations, Sauces

Cuisine Italian American

Servings 1.5 cups

Equipment

• 1 food processor

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
• 1/3 cup good green olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup Romano cheese, shredded

Instructions

 

• Place all the ingredients in the food processor and process until all the ingredients are combined. Serve over hot pasta.
• Pesto can be frozen until you are ready to use it.

Notes

Myra’s instructions for a plate of Pesto Pasta:

Mix one and 1/2 cups of fettuccini noodles with 3 TBLS. of pesto. Stir together carefully so as to not break the noodles. Garnish with tomato slices and Romano cheese. Serve with a ciabatta roll.

Keyword basil, Romano cheese, sunflower seeds