The One and Only Pesto Genovese
Summer. Sun. A monster is taking over your garden, your porch or even your kitchen’s windowsill. Basil is growing wild in this weather, allowing us to play with this beautifully fragrant herbs in appetizers, entrees, even desserts.
When you come to the point that you do not know what to do with the abundance anymore, follow these easy steps to make your own Pesto Genovese, just as it is eaten in Liguria (this is the official recipe of the Pesto Consortium!)
Pesto is really best when it is fresh. It oxidizes after it is prepared, so if you choose to stock up on pesto for winter, freeze it immediately in small portions. Ice cube containers are a good way to have portion control!
Regarding your choice of pasta, you can either go with a short pasta like Farfalle or a long, thin pasta shape (Linguine, Spaghetti). I know I am a really bad marketing person here, because The Scrumptious Pantry does not carry any long, thin pasta, and I even used fresh Linguine for the picture. (Happens I had homemade pasta in my fridge going bad. Was I supposed to throw that out for the sake of a picture?) Carlo’s Durum Wheat Farfalle of Semolato are actually great with pesto! Although it contains approx. 25% more of the actual wheat kernel than white pasta, it is not whole wheat (less of the bran), so it keeps the delicate taste needed to match with pesto. Curious? Check out this past blog post to learn more about Semolato pasta.
But now, off to making a real Pesto Genovese:
You would really need a marble mortar and wooden pestle, as to extract the essential oils out of the basil leaves as gently as possible. If you use a food processor, use a low speed on the poor leaves and run the processor in 20 seconds intervals. Do not throw all ingredients into the processor together. The pesto will turn dark green and bitter if olive oil is added to soon!
Ingredients - make sure all ingredients are at room temperature!
(for 4 persons)
1.1 lb Carlo’s Farfalle Pasta from The Scrumptious Pantry
2 cups fresh basil leaves (packed; preferably of the Genovese variety)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (get a fruit forward olive oil)
6 tablespoons (tbsp) grated aged Parmeggiano Reggiano
2 tbsp grated middle aged Pecorino cheese
2 small garlic cloves
1 tbsp pine nuts
pinch of salt
Method
(1) Start to boil salted water for the pasta - do not add oil to the water. (2) Rinse the basil well with cold water and dry the leaves. (3) Add the pasta to the boiling water if you use Durum Wheat pasta, it will take approx. 10 minutes to cook. (4) in a mortar, start grinding the garlic. (5) Add the basil leaves, making gentle circular movements with the pestle. It is not about putting pressure on the leaves! (5) When lucid green liquid starts forming, add the pine nuts and continue grinding. (6) Add the grated cheese and mix well. (7) Finally add a good quality Extra Virgin Olive OIl - do not add all the indicated quantity at once, but drop by drop, till you arrive at the perfect consistency. (8) Add a pinch of salt to taste (be aware that aged Parmeggiano and Pecorino are fairly salty already, so go easy on the salt - better taste one time too much than one too little!) (9) Drain pasta - without rinsing it! You want the starch on the pasta to stick the pesto to the noodle! (10) Toss the pasta with your pesto and serve.
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Tags: BASIL RECIPE, DURUM WHEAT PASTA, food processor, Olive Oil, PESTO GENOVESE, PESTO RECIPE
