Homemade Pesto Sauce

If you said that looks tasty, you’d be wrong.  It’s beyond tasty and all the way into fabulous.  If I do say so myself.

Want the recipe?  Read on my friends, read on.

But first know that you will be bombarded with pictures.  I judge cookbooks by their pictures – I like lots of ‘em.

Ingredients:

2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts

3 large cloves garlic

1/2 cup E.V.O.O.

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

pinch of salt

pepper to taste

Begin by toasting the pine nuts.  You can substitute the cheaper and more readily available almonds or walnuts, but the end result is much better if you stick with pine nuts.

Whichever you choose, lightly toast them in a dry skillet over medium-low heat.  As you can see, I actually prefer mine to be more than lightly toasted, but start light until you develop your own preference.

You can put these on the heat with minimal attention besides the occasional stir.

Moving on to the herbs – gather your basil

and parsley

and wash and dry thoroughly.  The parsley is not essential, but if you’re making the pesto to freeze, it helps the sauce retain that beautiful bright green color upon thawing.  If you opt not to use parsley, you may want to decrease the EVOO by a tablespoon or so.

Meanwhile, remove the stems.  (Not completely necessary if you’re in a rush – I’ve done it both ways and was never disappointed)

Place the basil and the parsley in a bag and using a rolling pin, the back of a spoon, or the flat side of your meat tenderizer, pound until all of the leaves are bruised and slightly weepy.  This releases extra flavor and it is key to a superior pesto sauce.  My secret weapon.

The garlic should be blanched.  Again, I’ve skipped this before and it’s ok in a pinch, but the strong flavor can overpower the more delicate herbs and change the tone of your sauce.  A quick 30-60 second dunk in boling water will make an amazing difference in the finished product.  If you are making pasta at the same time, blanch the garlic before you add the pasta to the pot.

At this point I like to use a mini food processor, just the right size for 1-2 recipes.  If you don’t have one you can use a mortar and pestle, the back of a fork, or possibly a really good blender.  I add the garlic to the food processor first, and after it’s finely minced, the pine nuts as well.  I then add the basil and EVOO, drizzling in a little bit at a time.  Finally, the salt, pepper, and Parmesan.  I know it’s very un-fancy of me to admit, but in the sauce, I prefer the powdered cheese.  I use freshly grated to top the pasta, but the powdered kind spreads and freezes better.

The end result:

If you are making this for immediate consumption, one recipe will coat 1 pound of hot pasta.  I like to reserve a bit of the water the noodles cooked in, just to add in and help the spreading consistency of the sauce, but that should be based on personal preference.

I generally top with grilled chicken and fresh parmesan, and serve with hot, crusty bread.  This is a tried-and-true recipe in my house that leaves everyone coming back for more.

[Obligatory kid pictures]

Yes, Catie is eating a tomato like an apple.  She loves them, and she grew that one herself.

And the freezing I mentioned?  Once you try this recipe, you’ll want to freeze some too.  I usually grow several basil plants each summer, and I make and freeze basil every few days all season long so we have a nice stockpile for winter.  Sadly, this year we are already out – and have been for quite some time.

Part of my stash:

It’s that good.

Promise.

Pesto