This is a light and tasty pesto recipe adapted from a few authentic Italian ones that I have tried.
Ingredients
- 1 small clove of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 36 basil leaves
- 1 tablespoon grated pecorino romano cheese
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Half pound of penne pasta
Preparation
Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic, salt and pine nuts. Don’t make a paste, just lightly crush. Using a knife with a sharp blade chop the basil and add to the mortar. Gradually add the cheese. Transfer to a mini food processor and add the oil. Pulse several time to mix the ingredients. Cook pasta to taste, drain and add pesto.
Makes 4 servings.
Tips and suggestions:
Use the basil leaves only, no stems; the younger the basil the better. Freshly picked basil is ideal. I have successfully frozen fresh basil in oil and it tastes fine used in this recipe; far better than the sad fresh basil available in the supermarket.
To toast pine nuts, use a small, dry pan. Put the heat on low and shake often for 3-5 minutes. You’ll notice a change in color when they are toasted. Careful, they burn easily. I’ve had to throw away (expensive) burned pine nuts a few times because I got distracted and they turned black.
Freshly grate the cheese rather than using the packaged pre-grated type. If you don’t like romano cheese you can use 2 tablespoons of parmesan, but the pecorino romano is what gives it a distinctive taste.
It is best to use a mortar and pestle. This prevents the ingredients from blending into one and becoming a paste. Tiny pieces of basil should separate and float in the oil (click on thumbnail pic to see how it should look).
Buon appetito!
nice recipe sounds delicious and a nice addition to the site italian recipes
My intent is to put all my recipes here that use herbs from the garden. Eventually.
[...] offers Mezze Penne with Pesto from her [...]
[...] When freezing basil, I coat the leaves with oil and then place them directly in a baggie. This keeps the leaves from turning brown and seems to preserve the flavor for a longer time. This works great for basil that’s being used in pesto. [...]