Basic basil pesto: garlic, roasted pine nuts, basil, parm, olive oil and a touch of lemon juice.
Done in a mortar and pestle but every time I do it I question myself whether it’s really worth it (vs blender).
by 345dms345
3 Comments
thrasherxxx
yeah, it’s really worth it but let me say you’re not doing right for what I can see [too much huge chunks of leaves]. you can even use a blender, it’s not a huge problem honestly [as far as you are using a low speed] the pestle is meant to be gentler with breaking stuff but especially to avoid heating the ingredients during the process. heating up basil or pecorino would be a huge mistake. if you use the pestle remember to use coarse salt because it’s fundamental to really grind it finely.
do not use roasted pine nuts, use normal pine nuts. do not use lemon, it’s an insult for us, maybe you’re using it beacuse it prevents oxydation and the pesto getting darker… but it’s really wrong. Here two tips to prevent your pesto to become dark: dry the leaves VERY well after washing them, moisture will make it darker. Add a hint of parsley, just a hint, a small hint but this method is a trick that shouldn’t be very necessary.
use sardinian pecorino, like the original recipe, and less parm. do not put freh leaves, they are just bitter, BUT you can boil some green beans and potatos with the pasta [yep, same pot] and mix them all together with the pesto sauce. It’s the common way to serve pesto pasta in Liguria and it’s called “pesto avvantagiato”.
oh, last but not the least: pesto is “strict” about the pasta you should use with it. no rigatoni, maccheroni, fusilli or any other weird shapes. Pesto is meant to be consumend with trofie, a peculiar type of fresh pasta, potato’s gnocchi or the trenette that are very similar to linguine. Last resort : penne are okay.
oh, thanks for the effort, your attempt is defintely good anyway.
3 Comments
yeah, it’s really worth it but let me say you’re not doing right for what I can see [too much huge chunks of leaves].
you can even use a blender, it’s not a huge problem honestly [as far as you are using a low speed]
the pestle is meant to be gentler with breaking stuff but especially to avoid heating the ingredients during the process. heating up basil or pecorino would be a huge mistake.
if you use the pestle remember to use coarse salt because it’s fundamental to really grind it finely.
do not use roasted pine nuts, use normal pine nuts.
do not use lemon, it’s an insult for us, maybe you’re using it beacuse it prevents oxydation and the pesto getting darker… but it’s really wrong.
Here two tips to prevent your pesto to become dark: dry the leaves VERY well after washing them, moisture will make it darker. Add a hint of parsley, just a hint, a small hint but this method is a trick that shouldn’t be very necessary.
use sardinian pecorino, like the original recipe, and less parm.
do not put freh leaves, they are just bitter, BUT you can boil some green beans and potatos with the pasta [yep, same pot] and mix them all together with the pesto sauce.
It’s the common way to serve pesto pasta in Liguria and it’s called “pesto avvantagiato”.
oh, last but not the least: pesto is “strict” about the pasta you should use with it.
no rigatoni, maccheroni, fusilli or any other weird shapes. Pesto is meant to be consumend with trofie, a peculiar type of fresh pasta, potato’s gnocchi or the trenette that are very similar to linguine. Last resort : penne are okay.
oh, thanks for the effort, your attempt is defintely good anyway.
Looks good!
It’s totally worth the mortar and pestle IMO.