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.
292 K 4.6/5 (24 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
Keywords:
Last modified on: July 25th 2020
For this recipe: Comment Send to a friend Ask me a question Follow Printable Diaporama Video
For 300 g, you will need:

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

Step by step recipe


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

Pick the leaves off the 3 bunches Basil.

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

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

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

Stage 6 - ⌛ 1 min.
Pesto : Stage 6
... 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 : Stage 8
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 RDI=20 %40 RDI=4 %250 RDI=40 %2,700 RDI=140 %11,310 RDI: 140 %
Per 100 g10 RDI=4 %7 RDI=1 %50 RDI=7 %490 RDI=20 %2,040 RDI: 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
Possible allergens in this recipe: milk
How much will it cost?
  • For 300 g : 13.15 €

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 17
Italian toast
Italian toast

These Italian toasts are slices of fried bread with pesto, omelette and cooked tomatoes, garnished with a basil leaf.
118 K 14 50 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.
29 K 20 min.
Roasted leeks with pesto
Roasted leeks with pesto

Oven-roasted leeks, served in the spirit of leek vinaigrette with chopped hard-boiled eggs, but accompanied by a pesto.
30 K 1 hour 9 min.
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.
50 K 1 hour 1 min.
Spaghetti with tomatoes and pesto
Spaghetti with tomatoes and pesto

For this very simple recipe, just pasta, tomatoes, a few herbs and a little pesto, but a delicious taste you'll see.
29 K 35 min.
This recipe uses (among others)
Other recipes you may also like
Mushrooms on toast, French style
Mushrooms on toast, French style
This is a French version of mushrooms on toast! The mushrooms are simmered in cream then served on a slice of fried buttered bread.
April 6th 2017241 K3.8 2 hours 5 min.
Larded pork tenderloin
Larded pork tenderloin
Tenderloin of pork stuffed with mustard and parsley, then wrapped in thin slices of bacon and oven roasted.
November 3rd 2011274 K 14.7 1 hour 30 min.
Broccoli savoury custard
Broccoli savoury custard
This light and delicious savoury custard with broccoli is perfect to serve with meat or fish in a sauce.
October 18th 2015107 K4 45 min.
Strawberry feuilleté
Strawberry feuilleté
This elegant French dessert is not quite a tart. The base is a circle of puff pastry baked and caramelized, then topped when cold with a thin layer of lime-flavoured confectioner's custard and beautiful fresh strawberries.
May 27th 201864 K3.8 45 min.
Chinois
Chinois
"Chinese" - what a strange name for this cake! A kind of brioche, filled with confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière) which can be decorated with fondant icing.
September 10th 2018281 K 24.7 5 hours 30 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2026-04-05)

*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 !
    jh november 20th 201015:22 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/
    marcovasce november 15th 201013:38 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