Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh basil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- Place the fresh basil leaves in a small food processor.
- Add the garlic clove, olive oil, salt, grated Parmesan cheese, and pine nuts.
- Blend for a few seconds until smooth. Taste and adjust the quantities, adding a little more olive oil or salt if needed.
- Transfer the pesto to a clean glass jar and seal tightly. Store in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Notes
Pro Tips
- Small batches beat big ones: Pesto is at its absolute peak the day it's made, which is why restaurant kitchens blend it fresh in small batches instead of by the gallon. Make what you'll use in a few days and freeze the rest immediately.
- Cold ingredients, bright pesto: On a hot day, chill the processor bowl and blade in the fridge for 10 minutes first. Cooler blending means greener pesto, and it costs you nothing.
- Toast the nuts if you want depth: The classic skips it, but 3 minutes in a dry skillet until golden and fragrant gives the pesto a warmer, nuttier backbone. Cool them before blending.
- Taste with what you'll eat it on: Salt reads differently on a spoon than on pasta or bread. Dip a piece of bread in before you make the final call on seasoning.
- Save your pasta water: When tossing this with pasta, a splash of that starchy cooking water loosens the pesto into a silky sauce that coats every strand. It's the difference between pesto pasta and pasta with pesto on it.
- Double batch it in summer: Basil doesn't wait, and neither should you. One big session in August with the ice cube tray trick keeps you in pesto through the winter.