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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.

163,223 24.6/5 for 22 ratings

Last modified on: May 12^th 2017

For 300 g, you will need:

1 150 g pine nuts
2 1 garlic clove
3 3 bunches basil
4 1 lemon
5 4 tablespoons olive oil
6 100 g Parmigiano reggiano (Parmesan)
7 5 tablespoons olive oil
8 salt
9 pepper
10 4 pinches vitamin C (optional)
Total weight: 555 grams

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Measures:

How long does it take?

Time required

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
17 min.	5 min.	22 min.

Keeping:

Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.

At what time?

When will I finish if I start the recipe at a certain time?
When should I start for the recipe to be ready at a certain time?

Work this out...

Step by step recipe

Stage 1 - 5 min.

Put 150 g pine nuts in a pan without any oil. Dry roast briefly over high heat, stirring frequently.

Set aside.

Stage 2 - 10 min.

Peel 1 garlic clove, remove the green shoot and chop. Pick the leaves off the 3 bunches basil.

Stage 3 - 2 min.

Pour the juice of 1 lemon and 4 tablespoons olive oil in a blender (always the liquid part in first), then add pine nuts, garlic, basil, 100 g Parmigiano reggiano (Parmesan) grated, salt and pepper.

Stage 4 - 5 min.

Blend, adding a thin stream of olive oil gradually until it produces a fairly thick paste, something like the consistency of jam.

Your pesto is ready. If you are not going to use it right away, put it in a sealed jar in the fridge, where it will keep for several days.

Stage 5

Appreciate pesto at its best on plain pasta, with a few shavings of Parmesan: a pure delight.

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.

Nutritional information

% are calculated relative to a Recommended Dietary Intake or RDI of 2000 k-calories or 8400 k-joules by day for a woman (change to a man).

How much will it cost?

For 300 g : 5.71 €

Note : These prices are only approximate

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Recipes which use this 5

Source

Home made

More recipes?

This recipe uses (among others)

	Pine nuts: You can check-out other recipes which use it, like for example: Spinach and ricotta ravioli, Crunchy salad, ... All
	Parmigiano reggiano (Parmesan): You can check-out other recipes which use it, like for example: Poivrade Artichoke Salad, Spaghetti with mussels and basil, Pesto crackers, Curried prawn risotto, Leek and artichoke tart à la piémontaise, ... All
	Olive oil: You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Leek and Mimolette tart, Small ratatouille with , Potimarron and leek soup, Tomato meat balls, Beans with tomatoes, ... All
	Basil: You can check-out other recipes which use it, like for example: Sushi, Pan bagnat, Creamy risotto with vegetables , Canapés of red mullet with poppy seeds, Spaghetti with mussels and basil, ... All

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Your 2 comments or questions on this recipe

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 15^th 2010 at 13:38 (n° 1)
Very good idea for my next pasta party at home. Grazie Mille !
Posted by jh november 20^th 2010 at 15:22 (n° 2)

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