For the Love of Pesto!

This basil pesto recipe has endless possibilities for brightening up your summer.  Just a few are dressing up your favorite pasta, spooning over grilled vegetables and potatoes or using as a marinade for a lovely grilled grouper filet. 

You can also customize this recipe with different nuts, greens and cheese. Walnuts, pecans, or pistachios are great stand ins for the pine nuts, while parsley, arugula, or carrot tops can be used in place of the basil. A sharp cheese like cheddar or Gruyère can be subbed in for the Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Which nuts go best with which greens and cheese will be a matter of personal taste. 

Traditional Basil Pesto

Ingredients

-2 tablespoons pine nuts

-3 cups fresh Genovese or sweet basil leaves (1 large bunch)

-2 garlic cloves, smashed

-½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

-½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

-1 teaspoon  kosher salt

Method

Food Processor Method

• Toast pine nuts in a small skillet over medium, stirring frequently, until golden, 5 minutes (you can also toast them in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes). Transfer nuts to the bowl of a food processor to cool.

• Pulse nuts with basil, garlic, and cheese until blended, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, 5 pulses. With the machine running, slowly pour in olive oil, and puree until almost smooth. Season with salt and store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 5 days.

Mortar and Pestle Method

• Use a mortar to crush garlic and salt into a paste.

• Add the basil, and move the pestle in a circular motion around the inner rim of the mortar to crush, rather than pounding it in an up-and-down motion.

• Add the pine nuts, and combine into the garlic and basil in the same way. Repeat with the cheese until you have a thick, bright paste.

• With a spoon—not the pestle—stir in olive oil.