Here is the best way to make fresh basil pesto with walnuts. Walnuts are a great replacement for pine nuts when making pesto sauce.
Wash and drain the fresh basil and Italian parsley. Combine the 2 cups fresh basil leaves, 2 cloves minced garlic, 3 Tablespoons chopped Italian parsley, 2 Tablespoons walnut pieces, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender.
Pour the 1/2 cup olive oil over the ingredients in the blender.
Whirl in the blender for one to two minutes. You will have to stop the blender occasionally and scrape the sides of the container.
When the ingredients in the blender have become a smooth paste, then pour them into a medium sized bowl.
Add the 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese to the ingredients in the bowl.
Gently stir in the Parmesan cheese.
You can store fresh basil pesto with walnuts in the refrigerator for about one week. As you can see, I prefer to store the pesto in a wide mouth half-pint canning jar with a plastic lid. The wide mouth makes it easier to use a large spoon for serving the pesto.