Home-made pesto

A basil plant has been sitting by the window for, hmm, a couple of months, getting pinched back every time there's a tomato-mozarella salad on the menu. It has suddenly put on a growth spurt, which could signal that it's about to flower, in which case the flavour of the leaves would change.

Time to make it into pesto. There should be enough basil for a decent amount of fresh yumminess.

Now that I have a "whizzy" tool with a rudimentary food processor, it takes just a few minutes. Back in their kitchens in Provence, cooks would whip up some pistou with a pestle and mortar and/or sharp knife in the time it took the soup to come to the boil. They'd use whatever was on hand - some herbs, some sort of nut, the garlic, some cheese, and quite a lot of olive oil.

Basil pesto

In a blender or food processor, place
   2 cups fresh basil leaves
   3 tablespoons pine nuts, pistachios, or walnuts
   2 large cloves garlic, smashed
Whirl until finely minced. Add
   3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
   4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Process till blended. Transfer to small bowl, cover, chill.

Covering the pesto with a layer of olive oil protects it from oxidation (the unsightly muddy look) - or press clingfilm onto the surface.


The book was published in 1994 and is still available. I bought, and hold on to it, because of the illustrations - but its recipes have proved useful over the years.