Pesto

Name: Pesto
Yield: Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients: ½ to 1 teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper; 2 cups (tightly packed) basil leaves; ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese; 1 cup mild olive oil; 2 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts, toasted; 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic

Preparation info

Makes about
3 cups

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Mediterranean Kitchen

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 1998

About

Fresh basil varies from week to week and from batch to batch. Sometimes, ironically enough, hothouse basil is sweeter than field basil. In very hot weather, basil grown outdoors can be bitter and metallic in flavor. Taste a leaf before you buy it. You don’t want to put up a big batch of pesto with inferior basil.

Ingredients

2 cups (tightly packed) basil leaves
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
2

Starter
Gluten-free
Raw
Vegetarian

Method

Place all the ingredients except the olive oil and cheese in a food processor or blender and process until combined. If you are adding cheese later, use just ½ teaspoon salt and season to taste after the cheese is added. Add about half the oil and quickly puree, then add the remaining oil and process