Pesto

We have had a lot of luck with our basil plant and it has gotten huge!  Unfortunately though, it started looking a little "leggy" and the lower part of the plant wasn't producing anything, only the top.  In an effort to encourage more lower, fuller growth, we snipped most of the tops of the plant.  This is how we ended up with so much basil!!
What to do with too much basil?  The obvious: PESTO!  I have tried to be more creative with our basil this year and have tried out recipes for strawberry/basil margaritas, margarita pizza, caprese salad, caprese skewers, chimichurri, etc.  But when you are up against the clock of nature and only have a limited time to use before it goes bad, pesto really is the easiest way to use the plethora of basil.
Note:  Thanks to my sister-in-law, I was given the idea to make pesto without pine nuts.  They are so expensive and half the reason I was avoiding making pesto for so long.  We didn't even miss it!

1 cup fresh spinach leaves
1 1/2 cups basil
1/2 cup asiago
2 big garlic cloves
1/2 cup evoo
s & p

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth. 

An easy idea for using the pesto is to make fried raviolis with a pesto dipping sauce.

Take your favorite container of pre-made, fresh raviolis (ours were goat cheese and sundried tomatoes) and boil until al dente.  Then, heat 2 tbls evoo and pan fry the raviolis until golden brown on both sides.  Serve with a drizzle of your favorite marinara and pesto for dipping.  Yum!