13 Mar PESTO

Posted at 08:15h in Small by Elizabeth Peddey 2 Comments

BEGINNER COURSE

Small

PESTO

13 March 2023

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PREP. TIME: 15 MIN - SERVES: 4

Who can resist the aroma of pesto? It just smells of Summer.

Once you have made your own version of this classic Ligurian sauce you will never happily buy a commercial brand again.

Use pesto to dress fine pasta strands or Troffie, be tantalised when you put a dollop in the bottom of your bowl of minestrone or beef stew or simply soak it up with hot from the oven focaccia and eat it with confit tomatoes.

If you have a mortar and pestle - you can make the pesto in that if it is large enough. A food processor does simplify the proceedings though. At the very least I like to grind the garlic with some salt with the mortar and pestle before adding them to the food processor, and also breaking down the pine nuts before they are added to the food processor. If you do not have a mortar and pestle both of these operations can be done on a chopping board with a knife.

ingredients

60g Basil (1 - 2 bunches)

1 - 2 cloves garlic

Salt

1 - 2 tablespoons Pine Nuts

2 tablespoons Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese or Grana Padano

Extra virgin olive oil

equipment

Chopping board and kitchen knife

Mortar and Pestle - optional

Food Processor - optional

Measuring spoons

Grater

Digital Scale

method

Step 1 - Prepare the ingredients:

Wash the basil and remove the leaves from the coarser stalks - weigh them

Peel the garlic and pound it with the mortar and pestle to create a paste.
Heat the pine nuts in a small pan over gentle heat for 2 - 3 minutes - stirring until barely golden

Break the pine nuts down a little in the mortar and pestle with the garlic paste

Step 2 - Process

Place the garlic and pine nut mixture in the food processor and pulse once or twice.

Add the basil leaves, pulsing to combine.

Add a little olive oil to lubricate the leaves.

Add more oil to create a coarse puree - transfer the ingredients to a large mixing bowl.

Stir in the cheese and season with salt if necessary.

Add more olive oil to get the consistency you are after - maybe up to a cup full.

Step 3 - To Use

Toss the pesto through warm strands of trofie or fine pasta or linguine.

Be sure to use some of the cooking water so that you can extend the sauce and lubricate the pasta without adding alot more olive oil.

Step 4 - To Store