Basil Pesto and Tomato & Mozzarella salad from my garden.

 One of the loveliest things about the summer is to be able to go out and pick vegetables and herbs from the back garden and make beautiful fresh salads.
I grew Basil and tomatoes this year as they are relatively easy to grow and you can turn them into so many beautiful dishes.

All the ingredients

Pine nuts

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Fresh Basil

Basil and garlic in the food processor

Parmesan cheese 

Add the olive oil

Basil leaves 

 Ingredients for Basil Pesto 

Half cup toasted Pine nuts 
1 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 large Garlic cloves peeled
Half a cup Parmesan Cheese 
1 cup Basil Leaves
Teaspoon Salt & a pinch of black pepper

Method

Put the peeled garlic and a few ice cubes in the food processor and add olive oil. Pulse on high and puree as much as possible and drizzle more olive oil in. Put the washed Basil leaves in a food processor and add the pine nuts, as well as the parmesan cheese. Pulse on a medium speed till everything is pureed but not to liquidized. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 Tomato, mozzarella and basil salad.

Cut the tomatoes and Mozzarella into slices and arrange on a plate.

Drizzle the fresh pesto on top of the tomatoes and cheese and add fresh basil for decoration.
Serve with any summertime meal or just fresh bread. 

Basil Pesto

Garden fresh tomatoes

Tomato and Mozzarella salad.