Pesto


Pesto
Pesto is an Italian sauce made from pine nuts, Parmesan and basil. It's very simple but quite delicious, and goes particularly well with pasta.
265K 4.6/5 based on 24 reviews
Grade this recipe:

Last modified on: July 25th 2020

Keywords for this recipe:
For 300 g, you will need:

Change these quantities to make:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 10 min.
Cooking: 5 min.
All in all: 15 min.

Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - 5 min.
Pesto
Put 150 g pine nuts in a pan without any oil. Dry roast briefly over high heat, stirring frequently.

Set aside.

Stage 2 - 5 min.
Pesto
Peel 1 garlic clove, remove the green shoot and chop.

Pick the leaves off the 3 bunches Basil.

Stage 3 - 2 min.
Pesto
Pour the juice of 1 lemon, zest, 4 tablespoons olive oil and 2 g vitamin C on the leaves.

Stage 4 - 1 min.
Pesto
Mix to get a basil puree.

Stage 5 - 1 min.
Pesto
Add pine nuts, garlic, 100 g Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) grated, 5 tablespoons olive oil salt and pepper...

Stage 6 - 1 min.
Pesto
... and mix again until you obtain the texture of a thick puree.

Do not hesitate to adapt the quantity of olive oil, more or less, the important thing is to obtain the desired texture.


Stage 8
Pesto
Store in the fridge in a closed jar.
Remarks
In this recipe the proportions are not all that important, so you can vary them (a little more, a little less) according to your taste. If you are fond of garlic, for example, you can double the quantity indicated.

It's not absolutely necessary to roast the pine nuts, but I find that it gives the pesto a richer flavour.


If you don't have any pine nuts, you can use walnuts instead.

The basil which gives the green color tends to oxidize easily, and therefore lose this beautiful color. To keep it better, add, before blending, the vitamin c.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe60 20 %40 4 %250 40 %2,700 140 %11,310 140 %
Per 100 g10 4 %7 1 %50 7 %490 20 %2,040 20 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man
Possible allergens in this recipe: Milk
How much will it cost?
  • For 300 g : 13.13 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
Some other recipes using this recipeSee them all 13
Thin cherry tomato and pesto tart
Thin cherry tomato and pesto tart

A tomato tart is a real taste of summer: this one uses cherry tomatoes, finished with a drizzle of pesto after cooking. Cherry tomatoes are an ideal way to add a variety of colours for a tart that looks just as good as it tastes.
31K 1 hour 1 min.
Spinach and Mushrooms with Pesto
Spinach and Mushrooms with Pesto

For this simple recipe, thinly sliced and sautéed mushrooms, accompanied by cooked spinach, are combined with a pesto sauce.
11K 17 min.
Pasta with pesto and preserved tomatoes
Pasta with pesto and preserved tomatoes

In this recipe, the pasta (whatever kind you prefer) is served with shreds of fried ham and chopped preserved tomatoes as well as a good dollop of pesto.
52K3.8 23 min.
Italian toast
Italian toast

These Italian toasts are slices of fried bread with pesto, omelette and cooked tomatoes, garnished with a basil leaf.
96K 14 49 min.
Tomato feuilleté with pesto
Tomato feuilleté with pesto

This is a fairly simple recipe, but the result is an elegant, thin tart, bursting with delicious Italian colour. The base is a a feuilletage, but savoury this time, topped with the concentrated flavours of Italian cuisine: pesto, tomatoes and Parmesan.
38K4.1 59 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Other recipes you may also like
Chestnut cake
Chestnut cake
This delightful cake is doubly chestnutty: it contains chestnut flour, and sweet chestnut purée.
May 8th 2020327K5 1 hour 13 min.
Vanilla sugar
Vanilla sugar
Almost essential in patisserie, you can find it in expensive little sachets of about 10g. It's necessary to distinguish between the vanilla sugar which really contains vanilla, and vanillin sugar, purely chemical which has never seen a vanilla pod. Here is how to quickly make a whole jar full of...
August 12th 2018410K 15 26 min.
Caramelised walnuts
Caramelised walnuts
These delicious nuts can be used in several cakes, but you can also put them on ice-cream, pancakes, fruit salad, or eat them just as they are.
February 21th 2011361K5 22 min.
Tomato ladybirds
Tomato ladybirds
Tomatoes filled with a tuna mayonnaise and rice mixture, in a fun ladybird shape that kids will love, served with a puree of fresh garden peas. A good way to encourage them to eat vegetables.
February 21th 2011270K 14 1 hour 47 min.
Morteau sausage rolled brioche
Morteau sausage rolled brioche
Here is a quite sophisticated take on a Morteau sausage brioche. The sausage is first cooked in the oven, then rolled up in a brioche dough with metton cancoillotte before being left to rise. After baking, it is served sliced with a Vin Jaune cream sauce.
September 16th 202431K 3 hours 15 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2024-09-22)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing
The 2 comments already posted on this recipe
  • Very good idea for my next pasta party at home. Grazie Mille !
    Posted by jh november 20th 2010 at 15:22 n° 2
  • I love the old classics!As a serving I agree with you: plain pasta is the best.If you want to try something easy and different, add pesto to a normal tomato souce and you have "sugo pasticciato". In that case I would probably not put the lemon.Buon Appetito!http://gemma-olivia.blogspot.com/
    Posted by marcovasce november 15th 2010 at 13:38 n° 1
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page