I tried a new pesto this week made with garbanzo beans (chickpeas) instead of pignolia nuts. It was not good, not at all. Part hummus, part pesto without the tastiness of either. So I’m reaching into the archives to re-post this recipe, which I’ve used for ages. It’s terrific.
With basil prolific right now, this has the added appeal of freezing well before the cheese is added. Few things are more welcome in the dead of winter than a taste of summer.
Classic Pesto
Adapted from David Rosengarten
1 cup basil leaves, firmly packed
2 TB pignolia nuts *
2 tsp minced garlic
6 TB olive oil
2 tsp freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, firmly packed
2 tsp freshly-grated Pecorino-Romano cheese, firmly packed
salt, to taste
* ella’s note: Pignolia nuts, also called pine nuts, are available in bulk as well as in tiny, overpriced jars of pignoli of dubious freshness. If you can’t find them in bulk (try a health food store if your supermarket doesn’t have them), use walnuts. It won’t taste the same but I feel that strongly about the jarred stuff.
Combine the basil, pignolia nuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and process briefly to a grainy paste. With motor running, add olive oil in a thin stream. Transfer pesto to a bowl (it will still be fairly grainy).
Add cheeses and mix well. Add salt to taste, if needed.
If pesto is too thick, add more olive oil; some oil should appear around the edges.
Yield: about 2/3 Cup
NOTES : Can be frozen for months if the cheese is left out, then added when pesto is thawed and used.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Oooh, ella! You’ve actually posted a similar recipe to one (of the few) I actually make! I LOVE Pesto, and yours is very similar to mine. I put in twice as much garlic, as I really like it. (Do not have before date! LOL) Fresh basil is just the best! Never thought of being able to freeze it, that’s a good tip, thanks. And I absolutely cannot imagine putting a hummus-kind-of-thing on pasta. I like hummus, but that’s just…wrong.
We live in interesting political times.
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Hi, Muse! Extra garlic is a good thing! I think there must be 1,000 pesto recipes similar to this – it’s sort of the mothership version, if you know what I mean.
Yes it is…and yes we do. Perhaps this is why the Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times” is a curse.