Pesto

I’ve mentioned pesto several times on this blog, but realized I’d never actually explained how I make it and why I love it.

Pesto is ridiculously easy to make, especially if you have a blender or a food processor.  It takes about half an hour, max. And it’s delicious to eat.  You can make all kinds of pesto — the limit is your imagination and the ingredients you have, (pesto just means ‘paste’) but the most common is basil and pine-nut. 

I won’t give you precise quantities — I no longer use a recipe, just make it “by eye” as the Italians say. But there are loads of recipes on the web.

I use a bunch of fresh basil from the supermarket, a few cloves of garlic, some salt and pepper,  some pine nuts and parmesan cheese (or one of the alternatives) and olive oil. That’s all you need. The only actual cooking you need to do is toasting the pine nuts, which I do in a dry pan. 

All you do is put all the basil leaves (no stems) and everything else in the word process and whizz it into a paste. I’ll taste and adjust it — maybe add a squeeze of lemon, more oil, more salt, maybe some chili powder — it’s very flexible.

My favorite pesto, however, is coriander (cilantro) pesto with macadamia nuts. It’s much the same as the basil pesto, except with a different herb and different nuts, and I often add a finely chopped chilli, though not if I’m likely to serve it to people who don’t like a touch of spice. Unlike the basic pesto, I also use the coriander (cilantro) stems.

I love macadamias — they make the pesto slightly creamy and delicious. There they are on the left, toasting in the pan.  Did you know that macadamias are native to Australia? 

I keep my pesto in the fridge for up to a week or so, with a coating of olive oil over the top, to stop it oxidizing. I renew the olive oil coating after every use. But it gets eaten pretty quickly.

As for how you use it, I generally just stir it straight from the jar into some freshly boiled pasta and sprinkle with grated parmesan, but really, you can spread it on toast, use it as toppings for canapés, as a dip, or stir it through steamed vegetables  — whatever you like.

If you haven’t made pesto yourself, I urge you to try it. It’s so much nicer than the stuff you buy from the supermarket.