Editor's note: Use this recipe to make Rawia Bishara's Eggplant Napoleon .

　　The first time I ever tasted pesto, I was hooked. I remember the first meal I made using it like it was yesterday—linguini tossed with pesto, topped with fried eggplant and served with fresh home-baked bread. When I use pesto this way, as a sauce, I generally make it with pine nuts. If I'm going to incorporate it into a dish, I use almonds, which are less expensive.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 2 cups

　　3 to 5 cloves garlic

　　1 cup pine nuts, slivered almonds or walnut halves

　　2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, or to taste (optional)

　　1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

　　1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

　　4 packed cups chopped fresh basil leaves

　　1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for storage

　　Juice of 2 lemons

　　Crushed red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

　　

Step 1

Put the garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Toss in the nuts, Parmesan, if using, pepper and salt and chop until the nuts are finely crushed, about 1 minute. Add the basil, oil and lemon juice and pulse for 1 minute more, until smooth. Stir in red pepper flakes, if desired.

　　

Step 2

To store, transfer the pesto to a sterilized jar with a tight-fitting lid. Pour a thin layer of olive oil on top of the pesto, seal and refrigerate up to 10 days or freeze up to 3 months.

　　Reprinted with permission from Olives, Lemons & Za'atar: The Best Middle Eastern Home Cooking by Rawia Bishara. Text © 2014 by Rawia Bishara; photography © 2014 Peter Cassidy. Published in 2014 by Kyle Books.