Pesto

Ingredients:

4 heaping Tablespoons fresh chopped Sweet Basil

4 heaping Tablespoons freshly grated block Parmesan Cheese

3 large cloves garlic finely minced

6 - 8 Walnut halves (or Almonds) chopped medium-fine

4 ounces Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

Stir all ingredients thoroughly and place in refrigerator overnight. It can be consumed immediately, but is much better the next day.

Hints:

Basil - Please use fresh basil in this application. I usually garnish my place setting with fresh basil and during the meal I will tear the leaves into smaller pieces and distribute those pieces over the food.

Parmesan - Please use fresh grated block Parmesan. I have tried the store bought stuff in the green can and it really doesn't work. Avoid the pre-grated Parmesan available in your local supermarket. That cheese is sprayed with preservatives, and potato starch to prevent the shreds from clumping in the bag. Also, the freshly shredded block cheese will blend and melt smother in your dish.

Garlic - Please take the time to peel, trim the root tip, and mince fresh garlic. If you own one of those plier-type garlic press gadgets, get rid of it. Be environmentally sound and recycle it. If you are going to feed this Pesto to your in-laws, it's all right to use powdered garlic. But, if you are going to eat it yourself, use fresh.

Walnuts - Most Pesto recipes call for Pine Nuts. However, they are hard to find, incredibly difficult to shell and I find them mushy and lacking flavor. If you are going to purchase Pine Nuts already shelled, be prepared to pay around $ 19.00 per pound. Almost every kitchen has Walnuts in their baking supplies and, probably because I'm accustomed to it, I prefer the taste and texture of Walnuts. Also, Almonds are a good alternative for Pine Nuts.

Olive Oil - Please do not substitute the Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Other oils will not work and will render your meal inedible. While corn, peanut, canola, sesame and other oils have their very important uses, this is not one of them.

Caution: After removing the Pesto from your refrigerator, do not use heat to bring the Pesto to room temperature. That will cause the basil to cook and the Parmesan to melt and clump. If you must use heat, use a very low setting and stir constantly until the Pesto is smooth.

Should this recipe render the Pesto too viscous or too thin, simply add more Oil, or more Basil and Parmesan, until you arrive at your desired consistency. I enjoy Pesto as a spread on sliced tomatoes, on capellini (angel hair) conchiglie (sea shell) and farfalle (bow tie) pasta, Italian or French bread fresh or toasted.

David 08/06/99

Nation Visitors Since March 8, 2013