Tag: Pesto

 

LET’S MAKE HOMEMADE PESTO

There is nothing easier to make than pesto providing you get all your ingredients together before you start.  I have made a short video on You Tube (Mary PremierCru) for you so you can see just how easy it is to prepare.  There are a number of variations to my recipe which  I will also share with you.

Pesto did not become popular in the North Americas until the 1980’s.  It was traditionally made with a Pestal & Mortar – the Italian verb Pestare means to pound or crush.  But nowadays,  we have it easy in that we have all sorts of different styles of blenders to do the hard work for us.  I prefer a hand blender to make my Pesto but you can use a large food processor as well.

LET’S GET STARTED                                         

2 cups of of fresh Basil Leaves (you can use 1/2 basil and 1/2 spinach as well)

1/3 cup of Pine Nuts (or you can use walnuts)

1/2 cup Parmesan Reggiano (or you can use Pecorino or Romano) basically any hard Italian Cheese

3 garlic cloves

1/2 cup olive oil or more to get consistency correct

1 lemon (optional) Italians love using lemons and if you enjoy the taste of lemon – go on and give your pesto a squeeze.

METHOD

Tear the basil into pieces including stems and place in blender along with pine nuts.  Give it a whirl to break up the basil and pine nuts.  Scrape down the sides of blender then add garlic, parmesan and olive oil.  If necessary add more olive oil until you get the right consistency to mix through your cooked pasta.

VARIATIONS

Use walnuts instead of pine nuts and also you can run some whole pine nuts or  crushed walnuts through your pasta to give some extra nuttiness.

Use Parmesan Reggiano, Pecorino or Romano cheese

Instead of using all Basil – do 1/2 spinach and 1/2 basil.

There you have it.  Your pesto will keep for one week in a sealed container in the fridge.  Or you can freeze it in ice cube trays and once frozen put it into freezer bags and this will keep for six months.

TIPSTER

What a great hostess gift this would make.  Put it in a lovely jar, decorate the lid with some fabric and ribbon and give the gift of love.

I hope you enjoy this true Italian flavour.  If you would like to receive more clean and healthy eating recipes, please fill out your email address just to the right – subscribe to my blog.

Thank you and come back soon.