Pesto Presto!
Pesto is a classic non cooked sauce made from the leaves of herbs, oily nuts, grated hard cheese, extra virgin olive oil and garlic. A classic Italian pesto is made from basil and pine nuts. Many herbs and leafy greens can replace the basil. Walnuts, cashews and almonds make a satisfying substitution for pine nuts. Pesto is fast and easy to make. In less than 5 minutes, presto! you have a delicious sauce to serve over pasta, put on a pizza, add to an antipasto plate or liven up grilled meat.
Cost: $15
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups basil leaves
- 2-3 cloves peeled garlic
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan substitution: Romano
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts and parmesan in the bowl of the food processor
- Add 1/3 cup of the extra virgin olive oil
- Pulse until the leaves of the basil begin to break up
- In small amounts, add olive oil and pulse mixture until it resembles a thick textured sauce
- Add lemon juice and salt to taste
- Remove from food processor bowl and put into a serving bowl.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap so that the wrap touches the surface of the pesto. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
Notes
Aromatic herbs such as basil and mint will darken when bruised and exposed to air. To keep your pesto bright green, don't allow air to come into contact with it.
If you want to store in the freezer, place the pesto in a freezer friendly container and cover the surface with evoo.
If your pesto becomes dark on the surface, don't worry! It's edible, just not pretty to look at. Remove the dark layer and use right away or seal tightly with plastic wrap.