Alright, so I decided to whip up some pesto the other day. Had a load of basil in the garden threatening to bolt, you know how it is. Didn’t want it to go to waste, and frankly, I was craving something fresh and quick for pasta night.
Gathering the Stuff
First thing, I went out and picked a big bunch of that basil. Gave it a good wash – you always find little critters or dirt hiding in there. Rinsed it like three times just to be sure, then spun it dry in my salad spinner. That thing is surprisingly useful, not just for lettuce.
Then, the rest of the ingredients. Needed nuts. Now, pine nuts are the traditional thing, right? But honestly, they cost an arm and a leg these days. Checked the pantry, found a bag of walnuts. Good enough for me. Some folks toast ’em, I didn’t bother this time. Too much fuss for a quick sauce.
Garlic. Grabbed a couple of cloves. Peeled them, gave them a rough chop. Didn’t need to be perfect, the machine does the work.
Cheese. Found a block of Parmesan in the fridge. Grated a chunk of it. Pre-grated stuff is okay in a pinch, but grating it yourself just tastes better, I reckon. Fresher.
And olive oil, of course. Good quality extra virgin stuff. Makes a difference.
Making the Pesto – The Process
Okay, here’s how I actually did it:
- Dumped the greens: Threw all that clean, dry basil into my food processor. Packed it in there pretty good.
- Added nuts and garlic: Tossed the walnuts and chopped garlic on top of the basil.
- Blitzed it briefly: Gave it a few quick pulses just to break everything down a bit. Didn’t want to turn it into mush right away.
- Streamed in the oil: With the processor running on low, I slowly poured in the olive oil through the little feed tube thingy. Kept adding it until the mixture started looking like, well, pesto. Smooth-ish, but still with some texture. You just eyeball it, really.
- Mixed in the cheese: Turned off the machine, scraped down the sides. Dumped in the grated Parmesan. Added a pinch of salt and some black pepper.
- Final mix: Put the lid back on and gave it one last quick whiz, just enough to combine the cheese and seasoning. Didn’t want to over-process it and make it warm or weirdly smooth.
The Result
And that was basically it. Took maybe 10 minutes, tops? Tasted it straight from the processor bowl with a spoon. Pretty darn good. Fresh, garlicky, rich from the cheese and nuts. Maybe could’ve used a tiny bit more salt, but easy to adjust later.
I stirred a few big spoonfuls through some hot pasta. Simple, quick dinner sorted. Had some leftover, put it in a small jar, poured a little extra olive oil on top to keep it green, and stuck it in the fridge. Probably use it on some chicken or maybe spread it on toast tomorrow.
So yeah, quick and easy pesto. Definitely worth doing yourself if you’ve got the basil. Much better than the stuff in jars.