I always thought of pesto as a basil, garlic, Parmesan and pine nut thing, but it seems that a “pesto” can be a sauce made of other ingredients as well. Maybe a different herb, maybe even a fruit or another vegetable. Looking into the actual definition of the term “pesto” I learned that word is actually the contracted past participle of the Genoese word pestâ, which means to pound, or crush. This must be related to the original, traditional method of preparation, grinding ingredients by hand with mortar and pestle.
But no matter the actual definition, I’ll always think of lots and lots of basil going into this thing called pesto. And I love it. We all love it. I grow tons of basil every year primarily so we can have our basil pesto whenever we want it, well, at least during the warm season here in Northern California. We can usually coax it to grow its lovely fragrant leaves by May, and it’s in its prime in July through September. Then with the chilly nights setting in around middle of October, it stops growing, and its leaves become pale and sparse (but they’re still delicious!). So by late October or early November we’re usually using up the last of it, and pulling out the plants to make room for a winter garden. So that’s what we did today, resulting in one more homegrown batch of yummy basil pesto.
My basil pesto recipe is not that different from others out there, except for the technique. I’ve never made pesto in the traditional mortar and pestle way, although I probably should try that sometime, but why do that when I can through all the ingredients in my Cuisinart and have it come out beautiful and delicious in a few minutes? I can’t for the life of me recall where first read about it, but as long I have my trusty food processor on hand, I make it the same way every time, with loads of fresh from the garden basil leaves, pine nuts and Parmesan. I can’t get enough Parmesan, but it has to be from a block of cheese, not pre-shredded, or God-forbid, dried up in little green cans.
I start with any decent block of mild Parmesan (I’m not a huge Parmesan-Reggiano fan, but if you are, this works too). So rather than having to pre-shred the cheese, I just cut it up into cubes, of any size, really. Then I throw those in the food processer with a couple cloves of garlic and toasted pine nuts. I process those ingredients first, to allow them to truly meld and form tiny little sand-like pieces. Then I add the washed and dried basil leaves and salt, letting that completely form a lovely green grind around the cheese and nuts.
Only when the basil has melded perfectly with the cheese and nuts do I start adding the olive oil. And then I only add oil until it is the perfect consistency for my pesto’s end use. I start with less, sometimes set aside some of it while it is relatively thick and grainy (best for pizza), then add more oil until it is the consistency I want for the dish we’re adding the pesto to. I can always add more oil, but I can’t take it away. So my advice here is to start with less than you think you’ll need and the recipe calls for, then add it very gradually until the pesto is the right consistency for your use. This is so not an exact recipe you need to follow. It’s really just a guideline depending on what you want for the end result. More or less garlic, cheese or basil… or any other herb you want to incorporate. It’s just a general guideline, so experiment, and enjoy!
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Basil pesto is THE classic pesto, and very much one of our favorite “sauces” for everything from pasta and gnocchi to appetizers and roasted meats. Pesto pizza is one of our favorites (and deliciously low-carb on a cauliflower crust), and Jose loves using the leftover pesto (if we’re lucky enough to have extra) on his eggs for breakfast.
It’s super easy to make, but just takes a little patience in procuring the freshest basil and methodically washing, drying, and separating the leaves from their stocks. But it’s all totally worth it! Homemade basil pesto is SO much better than what you can buy in the store.
Ingredients
- 4 oz good quality Parmesan cheese in block form
- 2-3 garlic cloves (1 oz) crushed
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3 cups (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 to 2/3 cups olive oil
Instructions
- Lightly toast pine nuts in a skillet on low heat.
- Make sure basil leaves are completely clean. Immerse stalks and/or individual leaves in a large pot of water and drain and replace water several times. Then drain and separate leaves from stems, placing leaves in a salad spinner and spinning until they release most of the water. Then dry the leaves in a clean dish towel.
- Cube Parmesan roughly, then add to a food processor bowl fitted with a standard blade. Add toasted pine nuts and crushed garlic cloves. Process these ingredients until they form tiny grains. Then add salt and process again briefly.
- Add washed and dried fresh basil leaves and process again until the basil appears to be part of the cheese/nut pieces.
- Finally, through the top spout, start adding the olive oil while the processor is on. Add the oil very slowly, stopping and testing it for taste and consistency, until the mixture becomes the perfect pesto for you. If you’re adding it to a plain pasta, you’ll want more olive oil and a looser consistency (meaning you’ll need more oil). However, if you want a stiff pesto you can dollop onto a cracker along with some goat cheese and a slice of tomato, you’ll want less olive oil in the mixture. It all depends on the end result you wish to achieve!
- Because I love pesto in all its forms, I usually double this recipe and start with a scant amount of oil. I’ll stop and put some of that aside. Then I’ll add more olive oil to make a more liquid-like substance that I’ll add to pasta or gnocchi.
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