How to Make Pesto – and What to Use it For
Pesto is an Italian herb sauce that makes use of fresh basil and olive oil along with a few other ingredients and is simple to make even for someone like me, who can’t cook to save their lives. It can be kept in the fridge and can be used to make a huge range of different dishes. It is also simple to make pesto and here is a great recipe.
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How to make Pesto
There’s nothing simpler to make that a good basic pesto. You can also adjust the ingredients to your tastes and even freeze it.
- ½ cloves garlic, chopped
- Salt and black pepper
- 3 large handfuls of fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1 handful pine nuts, lightly toasted
- 1 large handful Parmesan cheese, grated
- Extra virgin olive oil
- (optional) squeeze of lemon juice
Take the garlic, basil and salt and put it into a food processor or powerful blender, blending it. Add the pine nuts and repeat the process before turning the mixture out into a bowl. Mix in the parmesan and gently stir in the olive oil so that the mixture binds together but isn’t too wet. You can add salt and pepper to taste and any of the ingredients as you wish to get it to the taste you prefer.
How to Store Pesto
Generally speaking, store any pesto you might use in the next day or two, refrigerated, under a thin film of olive oil. You can also freeze it in snack-sized baggies. Thaw and toss with whatever gnocchi, ravioli, or other favorite pasta you like – and a good splash of pasta water!
How Do I Keep Pesto from Turning Brown?
There are a couple of ways to keep your pesto bright green. Browning comes from oxidizing. One way to prevent this is to limit exposure to air. Because of this, I like to keep pesto in my narrowest jar with a thin layer of olive oil on top so that no pesto is exposed to air. The other option is to blanch your basil leaves briefly, and proceed with your pesto-making from there. I almost always opt for option one.
How to freeze Pesto
Another great thing about making your own pesto is that you can easily freeze what you don’t use in a day or two.
To freeze pesto, grab an ice cube tray. Add a little of the pesto to each section but don’t completely fill it. Add a small amount of olive oil on top of each compartment – this stops the pesto from going brown while in the freezer.
You can pop them out of the tray once they are frozen and put them in freezer bags if that is an easier way to store.
What Is the Best Olive Oil for Pesto Sauce?
The first ingredient test I wanted to do was of the olive oil. I went into this thinking this would be one of the most important factors in the final sauce. Because there are so many thousands of brands of olive oil on the market, there was no way to try all of them, so I kept it simple here to test a basic premise: Does good Ligurian olive oil matter?
To find out, I pitted a bottle of pricey Ligurian oil against a months-old jumbo tin of cheapo, all-purpose olive oil that we use in the test kitchen for everyday tasks. I made two equal batches of pesto, with the only difference being the oil.
Nearly every taster in the office (there were about four or five in most cases, who, I should note, never knew which variable I was testing) preferred the pesto made with the Ligurian oil just one gravitated to the pesto with the cheaper oil. But, while the Ligurian oil came out on top, being more buttery and rounded in flavor, we all agreed that the differences were incredibly subtle. In fact, few realized the oil was different, and many assumed I had changed the garlic or some other ingredient.
Going back to the pungency of pesto, this makes some sense: When it’s loaded with basil, garlic, aged cheeses, and nuts, the nuances of a good oil become much harder to taste. That doesn’t mean it makes no difference, but the differences aren’t as stark as one might think.
If you use an absolutely awful, rancid oil, or a very, very spicy, aggressive one, those differences will be more apparent. But as long as you’re using a decent, somewhat mild olive oil, your pesto is going to be good; if you feel like using an even higher-quality, not-too-spicy oil, whether Ligurian or not, it may be subtly better.
What Cheese Should Be Used in Pesto Sauce?
Historically, the cheeses of true Ligurian pesto were Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Sardo (or Fiore Sardo), a Sardinian sheep’s-milk cheese. When pesto first became popular in the United States, however, Fiore Sardo was pretty much unavailable here, so recipe writers substituted the next best available thing: Pecorino Romano. But Pecorino Romano is saltier, sharper, and tangier than Fiore Sardo.
So my question was: Does it really matter? To test this, I made two batches of pesto. The first had equal parts Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Fiore Sardo, which tends to be the ratio of those two cheeses called for by most recipes I looked at. In the other, I used Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino Romano, but here I used 50% more of the Parmesan and 50% less of the Pecorino Romano using more of the Parm and less of the Romano seems to be the solution most recipes recommend to account for Romano’s more assertive flavor.
Tasters preferred the batch with Fiore Sardo, with its ever-so-slightly sweeter, fruitier, less harsh flavor. And yet here, too, the differences were very minor. So, once again, if you can find the Fiore Sardo, it will make a marginally better pesto sauce, but Pecorino Romano makes a darned good one, too (and, frankly, Parmigiano-Reggiano alone makes a great one as well).
What Nuts Go Into Pesto Sauce, and Should You Toast Them?
Most recipes for pesto sauce call for pine nuts, but walnuts are not unheard of. In all the recipes I looked at, the pine nuts were tossed directly into the sauce, but I wondered whether there was any benefit to toasting them first, which would enhance their nutty flavor.
Side by side, though, the two batches I made were nearly indistinguishable from each other: Not one taster could tell the difference. Because I had made them and knew what flavor I was looking for, I could faintly detect the roasted-nut flavor in the lingering aftertaste of the sauce, and I honestly didn’t think it did the sauce any favors it detracted from the sweet roundness that makes a good pesto taste good. But if they weren’t looking for it, I’m not sure most people would even notice.
The verdict: Toasting is not worth it.
Pesto ideas
Once you have made your fresh pesto, there is no end to the different recipes you can use it in. Here are a few ideas to get you started
Pasta
Pesto is often served with pasta and there is something ideal about the combination. Why not simmer a portion of heavy cream with pesto added to taste until it is thickened then add grated Parmesan and your favourite pasta, such as tortellini? To balance out the naughtiness of the cream sauce, add steamed broccoli or another favourite vegetable.
Gnocchi
Another traditional use of pesto is alongside gnocchi, the Italian potato balls. Simply toss the gnocchi with three tablespoons of pesto and 1 tablespoon of softened butter then add to a baking dish, sprinkling with grated pecorino and grilling until the cheese is brown.
Potatoes
Adding homemade pesto to potatoes is another way to utilise the flavours of the sauce. Make up some pesto butter by mixing pesto with warmed butter then add to cooked sweet potatoes for a tasty filling. Alternatively, add the pesto butter to grilled or steamed corn and sprinkle with Parmesan to finish.
As a dip
A very simple use for pesto for a party is to use is as a dip with breadsticks. Simply combine two tablespoons of pesto with 300 grams of light soft cheese and add to a dip dish, sprinkling with pine nuts if you like. Take some breadsticks and wrap a little prosciutto around the top of each for a perfect dipping partner.
In a sandwich
My personal favourite is adding pesto to a sandwich or bread. Take some ciabatta bread, toast it then add some soft cheese, sliced tomato and drizzle with pesto for a classic Italian snack. Or add the pesto to bread opposite some sliced chicken, ham and mozzarella before toasting for a warm alternative.
Warm Turkey, Pesto and Provolone Sandwich
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp pesto (see above instructions)
- 2 crusty French rolls
- 2 tbsp butter (unsalted)
- 6-8 turkey breast slices (thin)
- 4 oz Provolone cheese (sliced)
Instructions
- Make the pesto as instructed above and freeze any unused portions in an ice cube tray with a little extra olive oil on the top
- Cut the French rolls lengthwise in half and butter.
- Place them buttered side down on the grill on medium until golden brown then remove
- Spread the pesto on the grilled area
- Heat the turkey in the microwave with a little chicken or vegetable stock until warm then add to the sandwich with the Provolone cheese
Notes
You can also add some sliced tomato for an extra bit of flavour
