August 25, 2010

Abra cadabra, hey pesto!

You know I made that rosemary pesto a while ago, yeah? It was good, but holy crap powerful.

Fortunately, my 2010 herb garden also features a couple of robustly healthy basil plants who have been enjoying our lovely hot dry July and August. And basil + pine nuts + parmesan cheese + garlic = pesto.

And Rouxbe has this rockin' recipe for pesto, and the video that goes with it (which I think you have to be a member to watch the whole thing) shows two ways of making it: by hand, and in a food processor.

I made it by hand, with my mezzaluna knife, to get the flavour layering promised in the video. And you know what? I got it. It tastes extraordinary.

I used two cloves of garlic, and asiago instead of pecorino and parmigiana-reggiano, because that's what I had on had. But otherwise I followed the recipe.

I may never buy commercially prepared pesto ever again. And I'm going to need lots more basil plants next summer. Lots more.