a sauce typically made with basil, pine nuts, olive oil, and grated Parmesan blended together and served hot or cold over pasta, fish, or meat.

Origin:
1935–40;  Upper It (cf. Genoese dial. pésto pesto), It: n. deriv. of pestare to pound, crush; see piste, pestle

INGREDIENTS

• ½ Cup Basil, cleaned and minced
  
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• Large Handful of Pine Nuts
• 1 Cup Parmesan, grated
  
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  
• Salt to taste

SERVES 2

DIRECTIONS

Start by cleaning and drying the basil. All herbs should be well-cleaned to remove all dirt.

Once cleaned and dried, take about half of the basil and place it in the center of your cutting board. Using a Mezzaluna knife (or you may imitate the Mezzaluna motion using both hands and a sharp Butcher’s Knife), slowly add Pine Nuts, Parmesan and Garlic, alternating them into the mix on your cutting board (AKA the “Terrordome”).

Continue adding-and-chopping the Basil, Pine Nuts, Parmesan and Garlic together, until you create a wet mound. Once you can easily lift the whole lot by scraping your knife underneath, do so and place it in a small bowl. Add the Olive Oil and mix with a fork. Salt to taste.

Chill for at least an hour, and then stir to re-integrate the ingredients. Your Pesto Sauce is ready to go!

PHOTO GALLERY

SUMMARY & REVIEW

This is pretty darned tasty. It’s a Zen recipe, as you are slowly cutting everything by hand, as opposed to dropping it all into a blender and hitting, “ZAP!”

As you can see, there is very little Olive Oil, so this is a fairly ‘dry’ sauce. Don’t hesitate to add more oil as your taste and later uses require.

Despite the hand-cut nature of the recipe, prep time is negligible… only about 20 minutes from start to finish! It is ideal for Pasta, sandwiches or just as a dipping sauce to accompany a warm baguette.

Perhaps the best thing about this recipe is its flexibility; leftovers can be stored for several days in the fridge, and it adds pop to just about anything (presuming you are a Basil-head like myself).

My only complaint about Pesto is the cost of Pine Nuts… TERRIBLY expensive! The first bag I bought ran me a cool $12… which hurt my soul (Author’s Note: Reader Behan notes that Trader Joe’s sells Pine Nuts for lower prices). Cost aside, Pesto is delicious and this is a solid recipe.

A REASON TO RATE!

Prep Time: 9.25
Simplicity: 9.5
Ingredients: 9
Taste: 9.75
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Average Score: 9.375

(1=Poor; 10=Excellent)