I'm Jonesing for some pesto sauce and I don't want to buy prefab shit. My mom has a recipe but she can be slow to relay the information to me. Anybody on the board have a good recipe for this?




(FYI a thread like this would be perfect in a new Food Forum )

2/10/2009 3:06:34 PM

I didn't think pesto was hard enough to require a recipe

[Edited on February 10, 2009 at 3:12 PM. Reason : er, you said sauce]

2/10/2009 3:11:56 PM

fresh basil + garlic + olive oil + parmesan cheese + pine nuts + food processor = pesto

2/10/2009 3:15:35 PM

Joy of Cooking does.

Buy it, you'll be glad you did.

2/10/2009 3:27:50 PM

^ya know, I think that's one of the cook books my mom has! Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she got her recipe out of there

2/10/2009 3:37:41 PM

(A LOT of) fresh basil + fresh garlic + extra virgin olive oil + freshly crumbled parmigiano-reggiano cheese + lightly toasted pine nuts + sea salt + freshly ground white pepper + large mortar-&-pestle = authentic pesto


(not so much) dried basil + powdered garlic + light olive oil + (that non-refrigerated) "parmesan" cheese + almond slivers + salt + pepper + food processor = still-pretty-good pesto

[Edited on February 10, 2009 at 5:32 PM. Reason : ]

2/10/2009 5:31:13 PM

Ingredients

* 1/4 cup walnuts
* 1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts)
* 3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)
* 5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 1/2 cups good olive oil
* 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Place the walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 15 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top.

Notes: Air is the enemy of pesto. For freezing, pack it in containers with a film of oil or plastic wrap directly on top with the air pressed out.

To clean basil, remove the leaves, swirl them in a bowl of water, and then spin them very dry in a salad spinner. Store them in a closed plastic bag with a slightly damp paper towel. As long as the leaves are dry they will stay green for several days.

2/10/2009 10:24:28 PM

Thanks guys. I'm gonna dig into this soon!

2/10/2009 10:56:00 PM

^^ That recipe would make a ton of pesto, keep that in mind. Personally, I don't like walnuts in basil pesto, just toasted pine nuts, but the recipe looks pretty standard.

Here is the basil pesto recipe we use when we need some for pasta or a pizza base:

2 cups fresh basil
1/4 cup pine nuts
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp Parmigiano Regiano
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste (roughly 1/4 tsp)
lemon juice, dash (maybe 1/8 to 1/4 tsp)

Toast the pine nuts over Medium-Low heat until lightly browned and let cool.

Combine basil, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, salt& pepper, and Parmigiano in a blender. Slowly add in the olive oil while blending to smoothly emulsify.

2/10/2009 10:59:03 PM

Man, the pesto sauce they have at Jasmin on Hillsborough street is so good...I wish I knew how to make it so I could quit spending $8 there on lunch. It's like, mayo based or something, an actual sauce rather than straight pesto.

Their Jasmin sauce (the stuff they give you for fries) is also mad delicious...

2/11/2009 2:18:24 AM

i made some good ass pesto in middle school

I'm Big Business and i approved this message.

2/11/2009 3:06:45 AM