Basil Pesto
Capture some summer flavor with Basil pesto
Servings: 2 cups
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed cups fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley
- 3 medium cloves garlic lightly chopped
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts [see notes]
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese [see notes]
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Make sure to remove the stems from the basil and parsley, and wash well – I use my salad spinner to get the herbs good and dry.
- Pulse the garlic and pine nuts in your food processor for a minute or so - you want them beginning to get broken up and blended.
- Add the basil and parsley, and process at medium speed for a minute or two.
- With the processor still running, stream in the oil through the fill tube, and leave running until the mixture is pretty much uniform and well blended – another minute or so.
- Add the cheese and pulse a few times to combine.
- Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed – the amount of salt will depend on the saltiness of the cheese, the pepper on personal taste.
Notes
About pine nuts: You will want to make sure that the pine nuts you use are from the US or Europe, not from China or other parts of Asia. Be certain by carefully checking the label. Pine nuts from China are often not actual pine nuts at all, and some of them can cause an unpleasant metallic or bitter flavor to linger in your mouth for days or longer.
If you can't find domestic pine nuts, toasted walnuts, pecans or almonds can be substituted, though they will probably need an additional 30 seconds or so to get processed down to a nice texture.
A lot of people use Parmesan cheese in pesto, but I prefer Pecorino Romano. I like the sharper flavor from Romano, though it is usually saltier than Parmesan, so taste before adding the salt at the end. You can also try Manchego or Asiago if you're looking for something new.