Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
3 medium cloves of garlic
one small handful of raw pine nuts
roughly 3/4 cup Parmesan, loosely packed and freshly grated
A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
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Directions: |
Directions:Start chopping the garlic along with about 1/3 of the basil leaves. Once this is loosely chopped add more basil, chop some more, add the rest of the basil, chop some more. I scrape and chop, gather and chop. At this point the basil and garlic should be a very fine mince.
Add about half the pine nuts, chop. Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop.
Add half of the Parmesan, chop. Add the rest of the Parmesan, and chop.
In the end you want a chop so fine that you can press all the ingredients into a basil "cake".
Transfer the pesto "cake" to a small bowl (not much bigger than the pesto cake. Cover it with a bit of olive oil; it doesn't take much, just a few tablespoons. At this point, you can set the pesto aside, or place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
Just before serving, give the pesto a quick stir to incorporate some of the oil into the basil. You can thin the sauce with a splash of pasta water if you want it thinner. |
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Notes: |
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Notes: The secret to making great pesto is to use a super sharp knife or mezzaluna. Another trick to prevent the basil from darkening is to dip it in boiling water first, then transfer to an ice water bath. Pat dry and proceed with chopping. Yes, you can use your food processor but unless you are making a large amount a mini processor works better. Plus, you may have to do a little hand chopping if there are large pieces of basil remaining.
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