I was perusing the dairy section at the grocery store as I often do and this plastic tub of pesto caught my eye. I am a pesto lover, who uses the green, garlicky, cheesy, nutty, mixture on everything besides pasta. I was amazed at the high cost of the small tub in my hand. While it looked delicious and tempted me to put it in the cart, I thought of you folks who might enjoy the joys of pesto making.
I make it regular style but will share the Hawaiian Style. You can mix and match some of the ingredients and develop your own special pesto. Impress your friends and family with this Pesto in Paradise concoction.
Here is an easy to follow, tasty recipe for making pesto in your kitchen using a blender and some ingredients that are sure to please even the most serious pesto connoisseur. I freeze some of the pesto for later use or for a last minute thank you gift that always is accepted with ouch’s and amah’s. I get that, “you made it yourself, oh you are so talented”, “it must be difficult to make”. Difficult, no. Join me for a journey to the land of pesto making.
Ingredients Needed:
You will need as many cups of fresh pesto leaves to correspond to the amount of cups that your blender holds. I prefer to make one blender full and then pau, done.
- Fresh basil leaves, I use 5 cups, this is a serious basil commitment
- Chopped garlic, I use Gilroy garlic from the jar, 1 tablespoon
- Grated Parmesan Cheese, I use the kind you find in the pasta isle with the green lid, use one cup or more to taste.
Choose one or more of the following nuts:
- Pine Nuts, aka Pignolias, 1 cup
The cute little pine nuts are very costly so I use them with another nut in the recipe. The pine nuts really come from a pine cone. I was in the forest in Northern Arizona years ago and a friend of mine said her family would collect the precious, tasty nuts from pinecones that dropped from the trees. After extracting the little nuts I could see why they are so expensive.
- Walnuts, Pecans, Macadamia Nuts, or Pistachios, one cup total nuts mix or match
NEVER USE PEANUTS! You will end up with green peanut butter that tastes like garlic.
- Olive Oil and/or Macadamia Oil as the base oil in the recipe, 2 cups or more of oil
Choose a second oil if you want to cut the cost of the recipe. The pesto will be just as tasty using a second type of oil mixed in with the olive oil or macadamia oil.
- Canola Oil, Peanut Oil, Vegetable Oil, Safflower Oil, or any other similar oil can be used to extend the recipe.
- Sea Salt of Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon
- An Electric Blender
In the old days pesto was made using a mortar and pestle to crush the pesto leaves into a pulp. It took some grit to make this recipe before the electric blender so pesto was a coveted green sauce as it still is today by some.
I wash the basil leaves and remove any large stems. You can add some parsley to cut the cost of the pesto but if you use too much parsley the taste will be bitter. I recommend using no more than ¼ the total amount with the parsley.
Add the basil leaves into the blender. Add the nuts of your choice, parmesan cheese, sea salt, chopped garlic, and lots of olive oil or oil blend.
Start the blender on a CHOP mode and push the pesto leaves gently to the bottom of the blender. Be careful with the utensil you use does not hit the blender blades. Add more oil to get the flow started as the oil will pull it all together. Once the ingredients start to blend, they will swirl into a creamy consistency. The mixture should be thick and spreadable, not with big chunks of leaves. The key here is smooth. You will have to go slowly at first to test how your blender will work with this recipe.
I use the finished Pesto as a sandwich spread, on crackers, add to soup, spread on garlic toast as a base. In this column I chose to use the pesto on pasta. Boil a pot of pasta and use ¼ cup pesto per serving of pasta. After you drain the pasta, put it back into the pot and add the pesto, stir. Serve this pasta dish hot or cold.
Once you get a feel for this you may want to try other variations of the recipe. Remember to make an extra amount and share with someone to spread the Aloha Spirit.
Email me any questions. Thanks for reading my column. Enjoy your pesto creation.
