Basil Pesto Recipe : Food Network Kitchen : Food Network 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese Directions Watch how to make this recipe. Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper. If using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese. If freezing, transfer to an air-tight container and drizzle remaining oil over the top. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and stir in cheese. Copyright 2003 Television Food Network, G.P.

All rights reserved Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchens CATEGORIES: Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe | SimplyRecipes.com Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe Prep time: 15 minutes Yield: Makes 1 cup Basil pesto darkens when exposed to air, so to store, cover tightly with plastic wrap making sure the plastic is touching the top of the pesto and not allowing the pesto to have contact with air. The pesto will stay greener longer that way. Ingredients 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (can sub half the basil leaves with baby spinach) 1/2 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan-Reggiano cheese (about 2 ounces) 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/3 cup pine nuts (can sub chopped walnuts) 3 garlic cloves, minced (about 3 teaspoons) Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Special equipment needed: A food processor Method 1 Place the basil leaves and pine nuts into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a several times. Add the garlic and Parmesan or Romano cheese and pulse several times more. Scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula.

2 While the food processor is running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady small stream. Adding the olive oil slowly, while the processor is running, will help it emulsify and help keep the olive oil from separating. Occasionally stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor. Stir in some salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Toss with pasta for a quick sauce, dollop over baked potatoes, or spread onto crackers or toasted slices of bread. Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to Fresh Basil Pesto on Simply Recipes. Thank you! If you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #simplyrecipes — We love to see your creations on Instagram , Facebook , & Twitter ! Links: How to Freeze Basil - great tips from Kalyn's Kitchen You might also enjoy... How To Make Pesto - Recipe | The Kitchn Spread it on sandwiches, toss it with pasta, or yes, treat yourself a single happy spoonful, but definitely absolutely positively make pesto any chance you get.

How to Make Pesto What You Need Ingredients 5 to 6 ounces (2 healthy bunches or about 6 cups gently packed) basil leaves, or any other green 1/2 cup pine nuts, or any other nut 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or any other hard cheese 1 to 2 garlic cloves 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 to 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil Equipment Blender or food processor Instructions Blend half the basil with the nuts, cheese, and garlic: Combine half of the basil with the nuts, cheese, cloves, and salt in a blender or food processor. Blend continuously until the ingredients are finely chopped. Blend in the rest of the basil: Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the rest of the basil. Blend until a uniform paste has formed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stream in the olive oil: With the blender running, stream in the olive oil. Less olive oil will make a paste good for spreading on sandwiches and pizzas; more will make a sauce better for pastas and stirring into soup.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue blending as needed until the olive oil is emulsified into the basil and the pesto looks uniform. Taste and adjust: Taste the pesto and add more salt, garlic, nuts, or cheese as needed to taste. Store your pesto: Pesto will darken and brown very quickly, but will still be tasty and fresh for several days. For best appearance, use it right away. If storing, store it in the smallest container possible and thoroughly press the pesto to eliminate air pockets. Pour a little olive oil over the surface, cover, and refrigerate for up to a week. Pesto can also be frozen for several months. Per serving, based on 2 servings. (% daily value) Calories697 Pesto Sauce Recipe - Allrecipes.com SYNEVA B 10/14/2007 I had a ton of basil that I needed to use up. It doesn't tolerate cold at all, so it's streching it to keep it into October in Minnesota. I was struggling to choose a recipe, so I decided to t... Dawn 5/7/2007 This was incredibly good!

I arranged boneless chicken breasts in a 9x13 dish. I coated each breast with the pesto and then layered sliced tomatos on top. Sprinkled on shredded mozzarella and ... TINY POEM 8/27/2001 The proportion of ingredients were perfect! And its a relief to know that the more affordable walnut can be used instead of the rather expensive pine nut without casualty. Thanks. Karin Landers 9/17/2005 I have loved pesto since I was three and stole a bowl of it off the kitchen table. As long as there is a nut, basil, olive oil, garlic, parmesan cheese and a bit of lemon, it is to die for. The ... QuirkyCook 5/8/2007 Very good. I didn't have walnuts; so I used pine nuts. I wanted to make it a little less fattening. In place of the 1 cup of olive oil, I used 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup olive oil. pinkypink 7/10/2007 This recipe was quite good.

I absolutely love garlic, but I found 4 raw cloves to be a bit much, and I was surprised. Maybe next time I'll use 2-3. I used toasted pine nuts instead of walnuts... Little Joe 7/25/2005 This recipe is incredible! It's the best sauce I've ever had in my life. I make it as often as I can. I grow the basil in my garden so it's extra flavorful. I've reduced the oil from 1 cup t... Dave W. 8/31/2007 Mmm...this was very good. The recipe, as written, makes 2 cups. I used 3 cloves garlic instead of 4, and found it was plenty. A bit of lemon juice mixed in will help prevent browning, if you're... substitutions - Can I replace pine nuts with other nuts in a pesto sauce recipe? - Seasoned Advice up vote 12 down vote accepted First, I'm assuming by "pesto" you mean "Pesto alla Genovese", given your question about pine nuts.

Basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, and cheese is a delicious combination, but it's only one of many "pestos" (peste, actually), since pesto refers in general to any sauce which is made from crushed or pureed ingredients. Mix and match to your heart's content. Walnuts are actually a traditional alternative to pine nuts for Pesto alla Genovese; pine nuts have always been scarce, even in early-20th-century Italy. As a caution, though, you need to get good, fresh walnuts and make sure to get all of the skin off the nuts, or the pesto will taste bitter and rancid. Almonds could also work, although I'd think they'd be rather bland. The herb pastes which traditionally have crushed almonds -- such as Romanesco sauce -- include some hot pepper. Again, freshness and getting the skin off is important. I'd think sunflower seeds would be kind of odd and oily, but you don't know until you try. If you do, post a comment to let us know! up vote 7 down vote Of course they would be appropriate, the taste wouldn't be the same though. Have done a bit of experimenting with pesto.

Have used pistachios instead of pine nuts. Parsley instead of basil is good too. Expect that many of the green fresh herbs would make interesting pesto. From Wikipedia : The name is the contracted past participle of the Genoese word pestâ (Italian: pestare), which means to pound, to crush, in reference to the original method of preparation, with marble mortar and wooden pestle. I vary the proportions of herb/olive oil/garlic/nuts to taste as I make it. Fun to mess around with when the new herbs are in. Have always wanted to make pesto with tarragon, haven't though. Have fun. up vote 4 down vote To my personal taste, you could even go without nuts completely and still have a great sauce. Walnuts and almonds are absolutely ok: there are many forms of pesto (the most famous being of course the Genovese), and they employ a variety of herbs and nuts. Pesto alla trapanese (named after the city of Trapani, in Sicily), for instance, uses almonds and includes tomatoes. Pesto alle noci (noci means walnuts), another great sauce, is made with walnuts and celery.

A quick check on google tells me that pesto with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds is not unheard of, lots of recipes are available. Others I know of: pesto with arugula, pesto with green beans and potatoes and probably many other obscure variants. Another option, but it depends greatly on your physical location, is to just collect pinecones by yourself - time consuming, but could make for a nice sunday activity (it certainly did for me when I was a kid) up vote 0 down vote There are many Pesto variants out there. It's basically a matter of taste. See, for example, recipe and suggested variations here : A common change to the recipe is to replace some or all of the pine nuts with sunflower seeds, walnuts, pistachios or almonds. The pine nuts can be replaced with an equal quantity of sun-dried tomatoes. You may change the taste by changing the base of the pesto from basil to other easily obtained herbs/vegetables. Some variations include using cilantro (coriander, for a more aromatic taste) or spinach (more "bang for your buck", as spinach is much cheaper than basil, yet still has its own distinct flavor).

How to Make the Best Pesto | Serious Eats How to Make the Best Pesto Tradition says to use a mortar and pestle when making pesto, but tradition says a lot of things. Are they all true? [Photographs and video: Vicky Wasik] Get the Recipe The Best Pesto Pesto is, on the surface, a very simple sauce. It requires no cooking and has few ingredients. And yet, read just about any authoritative source on pesto and you're confronted with a laundry list of dos and don'ts. I wanted to explore these rules of pesto-making, so I've been running recipe tests all week long, and in the process, I've realized an important thing: It's really easy to get sick of pesto. Now, don't get me wrong, because I love pesto, and I get excited for it when summer rolls around and basil crops up at the farmers market. But man, if I'm to be completely honest, I tire of it very quickly. The reason I can only eat so much is that pesto is, for all its simplicity, a pungent, in-your-face sauce. Don't believe me?

Just think of what's packed into it: heaps of fresh, aromatic basil (an assertive herb all by itself); raw garlic; aged cheeses; and rich nuts, plus a good glug of olive oil to hold it all together. There's nothing mild about it. I make this point for a reason: because it helps in understanding what the secrets are to a good pesto. What I've come to realize is that the best pesto leans toward milder, sweeter, rounder flavors, but even if you don't achieve that goal, it's still really hard to mess it up—because all those flavors, even at their mildest, are just so dang strong. This is good news, because it means you actually have a wider margin of error than most experts will admit. Still, we want the best pesto, right? So how do we get there? Let's take a closer look. Serious Eats Watch More Videos Replay The Pesto Pantheon Despite its simplicity, there are several variables to explore when making pesto.

Read those who wax poetic on proper pesto and you'll usually encounter the following rules: First, there's the basil itself; if you do it right, that basil should be freshly picked from the Ligurian hillsides, when the leaves are small and the basil plants are flowering. Obviously, that's out of the question for most of us. Next, there's the olive oil, which should be buttery and mild, freshly pressed from Ligurian Taggiasca olives. Most of us can find this oil, but it tends to be expensive. Then there's the cheese: Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Fiore Sardo, and preferably not the sharper, saltier, tangier (and much more widely available) Pecorino Romano that many recipes in the United States call for. The nuts are typically pine nuts, though some recipes will substitute walnuts. And most recipes call for them to be untoasted. Last, there's the method: Should you use a mortar and pestle, as tradition dictates, or go the easy route and whip it up in a food processor?

I also found, on an Italian website, some necessary "attitudes" for making pesto: Enthusiasm A little common sense Some elbow grease I decided to run some taste tests in the SE test kitchen to see which of these rules really matter (and whether that website was right about the attitudes). Care to hazard a guess as to which made the most difference? Probing Pesto Before getting into each part, I want to address the glaring omission in my tests: the basil. As essential as basil is to Genovese-style pesto, I concluded that most of us have a limited set of options for it. Unless you're reading this from Liguria itself, you probably don't have access to the prized basil of that region. Otherwise, if you grow your own, that's great. If you have access to a good farmers market with beautiful tufts of fragrant basil, go for it. If you have to settle for supermarket clamshells of hydroponic herb, well, then, that's what it's going to be. And, frankly, some of that stuff isn't half bad. Basically, get the best fresh basil you can, and that's all there is to it.

The Ratio Without a doubt, in a sauce as simple as pesto, the ratio of ingredients is of paramount importance. Because I've made a lot of pesto in my life, and because I consulted dozens of recipes in books and online, I started out with a pretty good general sense of how much of each ingredient to use. To arrive at what I think is a pretty great ratio of ingredients in my recipe here, I dialed in the quantities during the process of testing the other components, gradually adjusting and tweaking through each successive batch until my colleagues and I agreed that I'd nailed the sweet spot. Still, it's a matter of personal taste, so if you want it with more garlic, or less cheese, just go ahead and adjust it to your own liking. The Olive Oil The first test I wanted to do was of the olive oil. I'll admit, I went into this one thinking that it would be one of the most important factors in the final sauce. Because there are so many thousands of brands of olive oil on the market, there was no way to try all of them, so I kept it simple here to test a basic premise: Does good Ligurian olive oil matter?

To find out, I pitted a bottle of pricey Ligurian oil against a months-old jumbo tin of cheapo, all-purpose olive oil that we use in the test kitchen for everyday tasks, making two equal batches of pesto, with the only difference being the oil. Nearly every taster in the office (there were about four or five in most cases, who, I should note, never knew which variable I was testing) preferred the pesto made with the Ligurian oil—just one gravitated to the pesto with the cheaper oil. But, while the Ligurian oil came out on top, being more buttery and rounded in flavor, all agreed that the differences were incredibly subtle. In fact, few realized the oil was different, assuming I had changed the garlic or some other ingredient. Going back to the pungency of pesto, this starts to make sense: When it's loaded with basil, garlic, aged cheeses, and nuts, the nuances of a good oil become much harder to taste. That doesn't mean it makes no difference, but the differences aren't as stark as one might think.

I'd imagine that if you used an absolutely awful, rancid oil, or a very, very spicy, aggressive oil, those differences might be more apparent. But as long as you're using a decent, somewhat mild olive oil, your pesto is going to be just fine; if you feel like using an even higher-quality, not-too-spicy oil, whether Ligurian or not, it may be subtly better. The Cheeses From left: Pecorino Fiore Sardo, Pecorino Romano, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Historically, the cheeses of true Ligurian pesto were Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Sardo (or Fiore Sardo), a Sardinian sheep's-milk cheese. When pesto first became popular in the United States, however, Fiore Sardo was pretty much unavailable here, so recipe writers substituted the next best available thing: Pecorino Romano. But Pecorino Romano is saltier, sharper, and tangier than Fiore Sardo. So my question was: Does it really matter? To test this, I made two batches of pesto.

The first had equal parts Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Fiore Sardo, which tends to be the ratio of those two cheeses given by most recipes I looked at. In the other, I used Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano, but here I used 50% more of the Parmesan and 50% less of the Pecorino Romano—using more of the Parm and less of the Romano seems to be the solution most recipes recommend to account for Romano's more assertive flavor. Tasters preferred the batch with Fiore Sardo, with its ever-so-slightly sweeter, fruitier, less harsh flavor. And yet here, too, the differences were incredibly minor. So, once again, if you can find the Fiore Sardo, it will make a marginally better pesto sauce, but Pecorino Romano makes a darned good one, too (and frankly, Parmigiano Reggiano alone makes a great one as well).

The Pine Nuts In all the recipes I looked at, the pine nuts were tossed directly into the sauce, but I wondered whether there was any benefit to toasting them first, which would enhance their nutty flavor. Side by side, though, the two batches I made were nearly indistinguishable from each other: Not one taster could tell the difference. Because I had made them and knew what flavor I was looking for, I could faintly detect the roasted-nut flavor in the lingering aftertaste of the sauce, and, frankly, I didn't think it did the sauce any favors—it detracted from the sweet roundness that makes a good pesto taste good. But if they're not looking for it, I'm not sure most people would even notice. The verdict: Toasting is not worth it. Do You Butter? In a couple of recipes, including Marcella Hazan's in The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking , a small amount of butter is worked into the pesto in addition to the olive oil. I made a batch with butter, but no one could figure out how it was different.

It may marginally help to bind and emulsify the sauce when you toss it with pasta, but it turned out to not be an essential addition. The Method: Mortar or Processor If there's one shortcut most people make with pesto sauce, it's using a food processor, which turns a somewhat laborious sauce into one of the quickest and easiest things to make. But just look at the name, pesto. It comes from the Italian verb pestare, which means to crush or mash. A mortar and pestle can crush and mash (just look at that word pestle, too!), but a food processor chops and minces. Is this an acceptable shortcut? Two side-by-side batches would reveal all. Food Processor For my food-processor batch, I used a mini processor, because I was working with a half batch of pesto. I also made sure to stir the olive oil in at the end, since blending olive oil at high speeds can give it bitter flavors, which seemed like an unfair thing to do in this test. I started by pulverizing the garlic and pine nuts together. Then I added the basil and pulsed it until it was finely minced. I added the olive oil in a thin stream, stirring it in. Looks good!

Mortar and Pestle I made the same recipe, using the exact same ratio in the mortar and pestle. I started by combining the garlic and some sea salt, and working the garlic into a paste. Then I added the basil in handfuls, crushing the leaves against the side of the mortar until they were reduced to little bits before adding the next handful. Bashing the basil with the pestle doesn't work well here, and will quickly give you a headache from the loud noise. Instead, work the pestle in a circular motion, grinding the leaves down. Once all the basil has been crushed into little bits and the green juice has stained the side of the mortar, it's time to add the pine nuts. (Some recipes have you do the garlic and pine nuts at the same time, followed by the basil, but I figured it would be easier to break down the basil if there wasn't too much "padding" already in the mortar.) With the pine nuts, I found that I had to target them, smashing individual ones under the pestle, before they yielded into a paste. The cheese is the last addition. I worked it until I had a pretty good, uniform-ish paste going.

Next, I drizzled in the olive oil, working it in with a wooden spoon. The final mortar-and-pestle pesto was lookin' pretty good, too. The Method Results The proof, though, was in tasting them. Looking at them side by side, it can be hard at first to see the differences, but the mortar-and-pestle pesto (left) had pieces of basil of different sizes, and their texture was soft, silken, and tender, totally yielding. The food processor pesto, meanwhile, had lots of uniform little bits, but in the mouth you could feel them all—they felt almost like grit compared to the mortar one. The mortar-and-pestle version (top) was silkier and more luxurious in texture. The flavor was different, too. The mortar-and-pestle pesto was infused with the flavors of all the ingredients. On pasta, the differences really become clear. The mortar-and-pestle pesto (left) coated the noodles beautifully, bathing them in a gorgeous green-tinted sauce. The food-processor pesto just stuck to the pasta in little bits, like glitter, and the oil had absorbed little of the basil's color.

The best pesto, as its name has insisted all along, should be made under the pressure of a pestle. Conclusion Because pesto is such a strong sauce, anything you do to reduce its pungency just a little and steer it toward a sweeter, rounder-flavored sauce will help. That includes selecting a good, mild olive oil; using Pecorino Sardo cheese instead of Romano; and not toasting the pine nuts. Not following the rules above won't ruin your pesto, though. Staying true to tradition and using a mortar and pestle makes a much more noticeable difference. If there isn't a chance in hell that you'd ever use a mortar and pestle, then yes, you can still make pesto in a food processor and it will be fine, but it will be just fine. It won't be special. It won't be magical and beautiful. Because that requires some special attitudes: enthusiasm, common sense, and definitely some elbow grease.

Get the Recipe How to prepare and serve Pesto Genovese in the correct, traditional way How to prepare and serve Pesto Genovese in the correct, traditional way By Mario Caramella Prepare the Pesto sauce according the recipe below and serve it the traditional way ! Trofie and Trenette are the pasta used in Liguria, however linguine or spaghetti al dente will make a good companion to this sauce, and as well potato gnocchi. Serving pesto to dip the bread is not really the traditional way to serve this sauce and also to mix it with other sauces is not recommended. The natural way of serving pesto is with pasta cooked in the same water with green bean and potato and then dressed like a salad (away from the fire) in a hot ceramic bowl. A spoon of pesto mixed in a minestrone soup (with out tomato sauce) taste just great. Many non Italian chefs tent to use this sauce in very baroque preparation, and I have seen the most silly combinations around the world, things like pesto in a pizza… You can imagine how the pesto comes out of a 300/400 Celsius oven! Do not cook pesto! OK!

Other chefs mixed Pesto with soya and wasabi and than spread on a roasted quail in a bed of polenta mixed with dry figs… This was a dish in a wine dinner for “Far Niente”, a Californian wine. I do not want to look like a bigot purist but I guess there is a limit to creativity, if you can call that so! In my recipe below I modify a few things and eliminate others, for example I do not toast the pine nuts and I do not give a choice between walnut and pine nut, also I prefer to use a young Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano and eliminate the Pecorino, the reasons for this changes are, dictated first from my personal taste , and second from the need to give our non Italian colleagues a clear direction, to be honest mixing two great cheese like Pecorino and Parmigiano or Grana Padano does not do any good to both. Probably this recipe will raise some controversial comments, but in my opinion and experience, this is a recipe that respects the tradition and at the same time gives a clear direction and allows anybody in any part of the world to be able to produce e great Pesto Genovese.

Pesto Sauce Recipe Easy Pesto Recipe - Allrecipes.com rita 7/24/2007 Excellent! Loved this one & easy to make too. One thing about the almonds that I really like instead of the pine nuts is the COST! The toasted almonds were very tasty & so much less $$. Also...a... Mark P 3/1/2006 I tried halving this recipe and ran into difficulties. In particular, with half the material, after the initial blender pulse, all the material -much more compact- now could lay beneath the bla... SQUEAKYCHU 4/29/2003 Wow! Do I like this recipe! It's quick and yummy. Just the thing to do with a handful of fresh basil straight from the farmer's market. I simply toasted slivered almonds on a hot, dry skille... marlo 6/11/2007 This recipe really can be adjusted, and probably should be, depending on your taste. We used about 1/2 a cup of toasted pine nuts, added a tbl of shaved parm., added a bit of mint and played wi...

INDIGO184 6/6/2004 This is a great basic pesto recipe- I use pine nuts and possibly any other nuts I have around (pecans). I also add parmesan cheese as I'm a big cheese fan. You can substitute water for some of t... rebeccalovestocook 7/9/2006 I amgiving this recipe 5 stars simply because of the fact that it uses nutmeg!! That is a wonderful addition to any pesto sauce!! I did modify it for other things however, I added lemon juice a... twistedsisterl 3/28/2007 I have never made Pesto before and honestly didn't know what it was until I made this and put it in a pasta dish,then voila! I realized the glob I dug out of the food processor was a familiar ta... SYNEVA B 10/14/2007 I had a ton of basil that I needed to use up. It doesn't tolerate cold at all, so it's streching it to keep it into October in Minnesota. I was struggling to choose a recipe, so I decided to t...

STORMY4 7/19/2004 This was an awesome recipe! I added about 3 tbsp of parmesan cheese and used the pesto to make a cream sauce. I will make this again! Pantry Basic: Frugal Homemade Pesto {with a Secret Ingredient} Pantry Basic: Frugal Homemade Pesto {with a Secret Ingredient} August 17, 2015 by Jami Our special pesto recipe is an AOC classic showcasing how adapting things to make them do-able for whatever your level is (in this case frugality) sometimes ends up being the better thing. I wouldn’t make this with pine nuts now even if I did want to spend the money on them! This recipe deserved to be updated and republished with new pinnable images and an easy-to-print recipe – I’d appreciate your help in pinning these new photos – the old ones from 5 years ago left a lot to be desired – thanks, friends! Okay, I know may be thinking, “frugal” pesto – huh? Let me explain.

This is the pesto I’ve made for many years with our garden basil which I then store in the freezer to last us all winter (we eat it fresh, too, but most of it gets stored). We use it on artisan bread instead of butter (by the way, if you haven’t tried this you really should- but be warned, it can be addicting…), as the sauce on homemade pizza , and in Creamy Pesto Pasta , among other things. This, then, qualifies as one of my “ pantry basic s” right along with ketchup, mayo, salad dressings, etc. – anything we use regularly that we (use to!) think needed to be bought from a store. It’s very easy to make, taking a just few minutes to whir together in a food processor. And of course making it at home with your garden basil is less expensive in it’s own right. But that’s not what I mean by calling it “frugal pesto.” The pesto I make has an secret, alternative ingredient that drastically decreases the cost of the most expensive ingredient in traditional basil pesto: pine nuts. The secret? Sunflower seeds.

Not walnuts (too strong) or some other seed or nut as I’ve seen in other recipes, just mild-mannered sunflower seeds. It’s their very neutrality which makes them the perfect substitute, in my book. But aren’t pine nuts essential? I may be a traditional pesto heretic, but I just can’t justify the expense. And we’re talking three times the cost of sunflower seeds. And I did use pine nuts when I made pesto for the first time years ago – I almost hyperventilated, but I did it to be “authentic.” And you know what? I couldn’t even taste the pine nuts inside all the garlic, basil and Parmesan. And if I’m going to spend almost $10/lb. for something, I better be able to taste it! However, I didn’t really tell anyone (out of embarrassment? shame? guilt? I’ll let you decide…) until the time we had Brian’s cousin and his family to dinner. Now this cousin is an incredible gourmet cook and has made us many memorable meals. Most of which he duplicated by taste from some fancy restaurant. In other words, way out of my league.

I served pesto with the bread (what was I thinking?) and he said, “There’s something different with this pesto- what is it?” Uh-oh. Gulp, “I…um…used sunflower seeds instead of pine nuts. Can I get anyone more water?” And get this- he says, “I don’t usually like pesto, but this is really good!” To say I breathed a sigh of relief is an understatement. So I no longer hold my head down in shame when I say the secret ingredient in my pesto. In fact, I think it’s a pretty smart and frugal way to make pesto and we even like it better! Making pesto is so easy. You do have to start with removing the leaves from the stems and washing them, but that goes pretty quickly, depending on the amount you have to use. Then dry the leaves.

Here’s my tip for drying the basil leaves – and even storing them for longer: lay the washed leaves in a layer on a dry tea towel roll the towel, with the leaves, up to rest and dry while continuing with the recipe, OR if you need to break up the pesto tasks into harvesting/prepping and then making the pesto later, you can place this rolled, damp towel in a large baggie, seal it, and place it in the refrigerator. The basil will last for up to a week (though it’s best after about four days)- there may be a few leaves that turn brown, but it keeps them remarkably well. Then it’s just a matter of chopping the garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt and sunflower seeds in a food processor until finely chopped before adding the basil leaves and process as far as you can. With the motor running, slowly pour in extra virgin olive oil. And voila! Homemade pesto. Pesto freezes great and is SO nice to be able to enjoy that taste of summer all winter long! To freeze for later, you simply pour serving-size portions of pesto in containers for the freezer.

I’ve saved little glass jars from things like marinated artichokes over the years specifically to use for freezing pesto and I’ve not had a problem with breakage since I’ve been reusing the jars. I like that they’re easy to defrost and then use on the table. There are two things I do when freezing that I learned from The Oregonian’s food section years ago: Add a couple teaspoons of lemon juice to each batch of pesto I’ll be freezing- this helps it last longer and stay a brighter green longer after opening (really – when I don’t use it, it turns brown almost right after opening!). Cover the pesto in the jars with a thin layer of olive oil which acts like a barrier to keep it fresher. An Oregon Cottage's "Secret Ingredient" Frugal Homemade Pesto Basil Pesto Recipe - Taste.com.au Taste.com.au Cooking for 1 or 2 Easter Basil pesto can be used as an accompaniment to many roast dishes but it also tastes delicious stirred through a big bowl of pasta.

0:15 Australian Good Taste - March 2006 , Page 60 Recipe by Michelle Southan 45g (1/4 cup) pine nuts 1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves 2 small garlic cloves, halved 60g (3/4 cup) shredded parmesan 5 tablespoons olive oil Add to my Shopping List Shop Ingredients Now [?] Notes Step 1 Preheat oven to 180°C. Spread the pine nuts over a baking tray. Bake in oven for 5 minutes or until toasted. Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes to cool. Step 2 Place the pine nuts, basil, garlic and parmesan in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped. With the motor running, gradually add the oil in a thin steady stream until well combined. Vegetable soup with pesto To freeze half (for up to 4 months): Transfer half the pesto to a small airtight container and smooth the surface. Drizzle with olive oil to cover. Label, date and freeze. To thaw: Place in the fridge for 3-4 hours or until thawed. Stir to combine.

Find recipes that make the most of seasonal produce in our summer collection. You may also enjoy our warm salad and pasta collections. Is chicken pie the most comforting dish of all time? We think so. More Video Reduce food waste and make your grocery shop go further with these tips, tricks and recipes. What's for dinner? Don't have a taste.com.au account? Click here to register . You have previously logged in with a different social network Sign in quickly and securely with your social network: Don't have a taste.com.au account? Click here to register . Sign in quickly and securely with your social network: Sign in with Facebook Sign in with LinkedIn Sign in with Instagram Our Privacy Policy includes important information about our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information (including to provide you with targeted advertising based on your online activities). It explains that if you do not provide us with information we have requested from you, we may not be able to provide you with the goods and services you require. It also explains how you can access or seek correction of your personal information, how you can complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles and how we will deal with a complaint of that nature. Or, register using your email address: This email already exists.

You may have previously registered with delicious.com.au, Best Recipes, Vogue Australia or GQ. Please log-in using these details. Yes, I would like to receive the free taste.com.au newsletter &hyphen; a weekly email of our best recipes &hyphen; along with any announcements and special offers from Taste.com.au Yes, I would like to receive exclusive and special offers from carefully selected taste.com.au partners I agree to abide by the taste.com.au Terms & Conditions of use and Privacy Policy Already a member? Click here to sign in . We still need some details from you… This email already exists. You may have previously registered with delicious.com.au, Best Recipes, Vogue Australia or GQ. Please log-in using these details. Yes, I would like to receive the free taste.com.au newsletter &hyphen; a weekly email of our best recipes &hyphen; along with any announcements and special offers from Taste.com.au Yes, I would like to receive exclusive and special offers from carefully selected taste.com.au partners I agree to abide by the taste.com.au Terms & Conditions of use and Privacy Policy Our Privacy Policy includes important information about our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information (including to provide you with targeted advertising based on your online activities).

It explains that if you do not provide us with information we have requested from you, we may not be able to provide you with the goods and services you require. It also explains how you can access or seek correction of your personal information, how you can complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles and how we will deal with a complaint of that nature. Please enter your email address to reset your password

Question: Which nuts are traditionally used to make pesto sauce?
Answer: Pine nuts