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Trinculo's Cafe has won theaward! August 23, 2002 Oh, the joy of fresh basil - the heady aroma, the crisp bite on the tongue, etc. etc. etc. If you haven't harvested all of yours yet, now is the time to mercilessly scythe it down and make pesto. Wonderful, glorious green goop all over hot pasta or spread onto boneless chicken breast as they bake - who can resist? This is one of those things you learn best by feel & experimentation. Today we share our more-or-less consistent methodology for making incredible, rich pesto.
The Stray Gourmet's Glorious Pest's Pesto Gather (or buy) enough basil to halfway fill the average blender (about 4 robust stalks). Strip off, wash and dry the leaves. Clean 6-8 large garlic cloves as well. Pour about 1/2 cup olive oil into blender and add basil leaves and garlic gradually, switching the blender between grind, chop and puree. When most of the leaves have been fully pureed, add 1/2 cup pine nuts. Puree until smooth. (Add additional olive oil if necessary). Cut several medium sized chunks of fresh Parmigiana, Romano, or Asiago cheese (or a mixture of different fresh grating and table cheeses). Blend into the mixture until all is smooth. You can stop here and scrape the pesto from the blender to be put to many wonderful uses, or, as I sometimes do if I am serving it immediately over hot pasta, blend in 1 stick unsalted sweet butter. MMMMMMM....Click here to check out this month's recipe. Click here to see the previous column & recipe. Exploring the Epicurean with The Stray Gourmet is sponsored by Regina's Lair: The Smile of The Tiger
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