I have three basil plants that just keep growing…..they did so much growing that I had to massively trim them and what better way to use a lot of basil than to make pesto…it can be used right away or frozen for later use. I decided to make a combination of my sweet basil and my spicy African basil. I had to of course give it a Cajun spin.
Spicy Cajun Pesto
Prep time
Total time
Author: Jessica Chiasson Wood
Recipe type: Spread, Appetizer, Sauce
Cuisine: Cajun, Italian
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh sweet basil, packed
- 1 cup spicy African basil, packed
- 3 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
- Sea Salt & Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup Pecorino cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
- Combine the basil, pine nuts, and garlic to a food processor
- Pulse until coarsely chopped.
- Add the cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, and cheese.
- Add the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth.
- Season with salt and pepper if desired.
Ways to use Pesto
Toss with pasta
Serve with bread
Coat fish fillets
Pizza topping
Add to soups for fresh flavor
Spread on Sandwiches
Make into a salad dressing
Serve over steamed vegetables
Great in omelet’s
Tip: Pesto freezes well. Put it in ice-cube trays and pull one out when you want to liven up a small portion of pasta.
What makes this Cajun, the cayenne pepper? Doesn’t seem like just adding cayenne to a normal recipe it would make this very “Cajun” tasting.
No, not just that…I also used Spicy African basil. A lot of Cajun and Creole dishes have a lot of African ingredients such as File powder which is always in gumbo.
Jessica | Cajunlicious recently posted..Gumbo Rice
Nothing better than a freshly made pesto with herbs from your own garden, delish.
Wizzy recently posted..This is why I am not a vegetarian.
Thanks and you are right fresh herbs make all the difference.
Jessica | Cajunlicious recently posted..Gumbo Rice