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Homemade Pesto  with Thai Basil

This homemade Thai basil pesto is an Asian-inspired pesto recipe that not only works for pasta but as a sauce for your seared fish and chicken, too.

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Add a spoonful of this easy pesto with Thai basil to salads and sandwiches for an incredible flavor boost!

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 Ingredients for Thai Basil Pesto

lemon juice & zest

parmesan

walnuts

Thai basil

green  chilli

olive oil

garlic

salt

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Separate the basil leaves from stems, roughly chop the chillies, zest and juice the lemon.

Prepare the ingredients

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Roughly chop the walnuts. Toast them on medium heat until lightly browned and crisp.

How to make Thai basil pesto

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Place toasted walnuts, garlic, chillies, cheese, salt, lemon zest and juice in a food processor jar or blender.

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Blend until you get a coarse, crumbly mixture. Scrape the sides and blend again until you get a uniform texture.

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Once you get a coarse mixture, add Thai basil leaves and blend again until the leaves are incorporated with the rest of the ingredients.

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While the blade is running, slowly drizzle olive oil in a steady stream and blend until well incorporated.

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Using Thai basil in place of regular Italian sweet basil gives a spicy twist to the pesto. 

Is Thai basil ok for pesto?

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There are tons of options:  Serve it as a side to baked chicken breasts for a quick and easy dinner.

How to use this easy Thai Pesto

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Make it part of an appetizer

Spread the Thai basil pesto on toast and make these 5-ingredient prawns and peppers for toppings.

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Drizzle on salads

A healthier option is to add dollops of Thai pesto to this Italian pasta salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

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Creamy Spicy Chicken Pasta Salad

Another healthy option to pair the Thai basil pesto with. Use pesto in addition to the spicy dressing or replace it entirely for a spicier salad!

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