Pesto spices up almost any dish. Powerful basil and its seductive fragrance take plain pizza, pasta, even butter and elevate them to a sort of addictive pièce de resistance. In plain language, it’s freaking delicious. And it makes me happy! Are you sold on pesto yet? Yeah? Good. Let’s go make some stuff pesto-licious. Too much? Let’s hope not.
What is Pesto?
Pesto hails from Genoa, and at its simplest, pesto is the combination of basil and olive oil, usually with an acid like lemon juice. I like to change the basic formula just a little, adding peanuts (or pistachios, depending on your preference), mint, cilantro and cloves. It’s a different kind of taste, and you never want to overpower the power of basil that makes pesto so beautiful. My additions are faithful to the taste while adding a flair.
How do I make it?
With a food processor. Honestly, just do it with a food processor. Some people, purists, claim that without a mortar and pestle, it’s just not pesto. They’re lying. It takes like, 40 seconds, it lasts for about a week and it’s blow-up-your-taste-buds delicious.
And that’s it! Some other time, I might do in-depth guide to pesto. For now, let’s just leave it at that and let you enjoy!
- 2.5 cups basil
- 2 cups spinach
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ½ cup peanuts
- Lime juice from half of a lime
- ¾ cup cilantro
- 2 Tbsp mint leaves, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- ⅛ cup whole cloves
- ⅛ cup whole cloves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Put all ingredients into food processor, minus the lime
- Run food processor for more or less 1 minute
- Scrape down the sides of the food processor
- Run the processor again for about a minute, adding the lime juice AS the processor is running
- Check seasoning and use or refrigerate in sealed container for up to 1 week
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