Recipes

Basic Pesto Recipe

Basic Pesto Recipe   2-3 bunches of fresh basil. Cleaned and picked off stem. 4-5 cloves of fresh garlic. 1/2 cup of fresh grated dry italian cheese. (parmesan, romano, asiago, etc) 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil. 1-2 Tbl of pine nuts. (Optional. Make sure that anyone eating this does not have allergies to nuts.) Salt and pepper to taste.       Turning these simple ingredients into a sauce is easy and can be done in several ways.  Traditionally pesto is made with a mortar and pestle, combining all ingredients into a stone bowl and hand smashing everything together.  The more common and efficient way is to use a blender or a food processor.  When using one of the forementioned, add everything but the olive oil and pulse the machine a few times.  Drizzle in the oil slowly until thick paste is achieved, once this occurs the remaining oil can be added all at once.  The texture and thickness depends on the cook, once you have the sauce texturally where you want it, add salt and pepper to taste.       Pesto must be used immediately or else it will start to oxidize and turn brown.  If you choose to make pesto in bulk, it is great to freeze if not being instantly utilized.  Make sure if freezing you put the pesto in air tight containers.  One of the best storage vessels for pesto is baby food jars because they are the perfect size for pesto for 1-2 people.   Pesto can be used in everything from pasta, soups, marinades, dressings or to flavor aiolis or mayos.  Pesto is versatile as is, or one can modify the recipe to fit their application, ie adding roasted red bell peppers or subbing basil for mint on a lamb dish.  The possibilities are endless.

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