Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 2 c. fresh, torn basil leaves
4 T. freshly grated Parmesan or Romano (or more)
2 cloves garlic (or to taste), cut in half
2 T. (or more) pine nuts or walnuts (I've only ever used pine nuts
but walnuts also are authentic, and shockingly less expensive)
1/2 - 1 c. olive oil
salt
freshly ground pepper
|
Directions: |
Directions:Chop the basil and garlic together, as fine as you can. Crush the nuts between two sheets of waxed paper. Add the nuts to the basil and garlic, and chop again, so the mixture is as fine as possible. Transfer the mixture to a pestle (not too much at a time, or it becomes difficult to work). Pound and grind until the mixture starts to form a paste. Add the cheese and grind until the mixture starts to hold together. Add the olive oil a tablespoon at a time and continue to grind until the mixture has the consistency of thick pancake batter. Add salt and pepper to taste, but not too much! Pesto is great on fettuccine dressed with a bit of olive oil. It's also superb stirred into tomato-based sauces, smeared on a bit of crusty of bread and, I'm sure, countless other ways. It's never lasted long enough for me to find out. If you find the taste of your pesto is a bit too strong, you can thin it with a bit of whipping cream. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Here's my recipe for pesto, which I thoroughly adore. It's my contention that pesto would constitute a major food group in itself, if only it could get a good publicist. To make a good pesto, use only fresh basil and high-quality olive oil. In the past I've ground mine in a mortar and pestle, but a blender or food processor also works.
|
This recipe for Pesto is from