Pesto Perfect
Sep 02, 2010 | From the kitchen of Rose
(Apologies for this blurry photo but I had only my cell phone and romantic lighting to blame.)
This past spring, my dear friends Karen Paige and Andrew Dornenburg recommended that we go to a neighborhood trattoria Bellavitae to have, among other things, chef-owner Jon Mudder's pesto which he made to order at the bar in an actual marble mortar.
We visited Bella Vitae on Mother's Day and loved the food but it was too early for pesto. I anxiously awaited the start of the fresh basil season and returned to be rewarded by a most exceptional pasta and pesto. Jon revealed it's secret: He imported the basil from Israel! He explained that the Israeli basil was more tender than the basil commonly available here. The result was a pesto that seemed to melt on the tongue. The pasta had just the right firmness and sure enough it turned out that Jon was using my favorite and most expensive Latini pasta. Can you imagine the cost for these ingredients! Could this be why the wonderful restaurant, joyfully and recently discovered by me closed a few weeks after my third visit?
Hopefully Jon will open a restaurant again soon but in the meantime you can visit him on his highly rated blog. Here's the link.
I've written about pesto at least twice on this blog, and this being the height of the basil season, it seems like a good time to offer my favorite recipe:
wanuts halves/100 grams/3.5 ounces/1 cup
basil leaves: 200 grams/7 ounces/14 cups
5 large cloves garlic, smashed
extra virgin olive oil: 216 grams/7.5 ounces/1 cup
salt: 1 teaspoon
sugar: 1/2 teaspoon
black pepper, freshly ground: 1/2 teaspoon
cayenne pepper: 3 dashes
grated Parmesan: Reggiano: 200 grams/ 7 ounces/ 2 1/3 cups
Place the nuts in processor container and pulse until coarsely chopped. Remove the nuts to a bowl and set aside.
Place the basil in a food processor and process until coarsely chopped, stirring down the leaves from time to time. Add garlic and process a few seconds until evenly mixed into the basil. Add oil and seasonings and process only until mixed. Add the Parmesan and nuts and pulse just until uniform.
Freeze 2 tablespoon size portions in aluminum foil packets. Add ½ tablespoon of butter when serving. Pass additional grated cheese.
This amount yields 26 servings!)
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Julie in reply to comment from Rose Levy Beranbaum
09/28/2010 10:39 AM
Here's another reason, from Harold McGee, to try this version of pesto with walnuts: http://news.curiouscook.com/2010/09/pine-nut-mouth-clues-from-denmark.html
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Rose Levy Beranbaum
09/25/2010 01:57 PM
hector, i do lightly toast the walnuts removing as much skin as comes off easily.
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Anonymous
09/06/2010 04:10 AM
I always heard that poor man's pine nuts is crunchy peanut butter. With peanut butter, use only that which consists of peanuts & salt, no other additives.
It turns out great.
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Cooking in Mexico in reply to comment from TONY
09/04/2010 05:09 PM
My motto in the kitchen: There are no rules in cooking. (Baking is a different matter, being more a science of reactions between different ingredients.)
But in cooking, hang the rules and go with your heart, wallet and palate.
In Sicily, pesto is made with almonds. If you really want to be traditional, a marble mortar and a wooden pestle would be used.
I use my food processor to grind the walnuts with the other ingredients. My guests rave.
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Rose Levy Beranbaum in reply to comment from TONY
09/04/2010 04:37 PM
Tony, do try to be a little more open minded. Walnuts are traditional in pesto in Liguria (that's Italy by the way). Sugar is often used in minute quantities as we use a pinchnof salt to accentuate flavor. Some people even add a little lemon juice to keep the pesto from browning.
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Hector in reply to comment from TONY
09/04/2010 04:36 PM
And I think adding a little sugar and cayenne to the pesto makes the basil leaves taste much closer tongue ones grown in Italy for pesto. They are SWEET and with a small hint of spice.
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Hector in reply to comment from TONY
09/04/2010 04:33 PM
pine nuts commonly sold in the USA taste like gasoline to me. I often use Mac nuts instead!
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TONY
09/04/2010 03:13 PM
NEVER use walnuts in a traditional Italian pesto...it's toasted pine nuts...AND NO SUGAR OR CAYENNE...NEVER HEARD OF ANYONE ADDING THEM TO PESTO!
IT IS A SACRILEGE TO MAKE PESTO ANY OTHER WAY THAN THE TRADITIONAL WAY!
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Katje Sabin
09/03/2010 09:25 PM
I'm fairly certain that 7 oz. of basil leaves cannot be 14 cups. Might want to fix that...
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thebirdie
09/03/2010 04:00 PM
Too bad, Bellavitae closed. I loved that restaurant too....
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Vicki B
09/03/2010 02:40 PM
What an interesting recipe for pesto! Will make this today with the dwindling basil in my garden. I tried to make pesto completely in the mortar but couldn't get the texture right. I wonder if it's possible to import the seeds for this particular basil from Israel?
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Julie
09/03/2010 11:54 AM
Mmmm, I love pesto and make it often! Can't wait to try this version.
Walnut skins are far less bitter if you don't toast the walnuts (though the untoasted nuts have less flavor).
If you toast them, it's best to remove at least some of the bitter skin by rubbing.
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Cooking in Mexico
09/03/2010 09:01 AM
Hey, Hector! Good to hear from you!
My nut of choice for pesto is always walnuts. They are so much more flavorful than pine nuts, and more affordable. I don't skin them.
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missyjean in reply to comment from Hector
09/02/2010 06:13 PM
Hector, I hope you are feeling better
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missyjean in reply to comment from Bill
09/02/2010 06:11 PM
Bill, I went to Trader Joes this morning. They had the most beautiful potted basil on sale for $2.99. I almost bought it but remembered I hardly use basil any more.
The recipe sounds fantastic. If only my husband would eat garlic. Garlic is all but banned from my house :(
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Hector
09/02/2010 06:09 PM
Do you skin the walnuts?
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Bill
09/02/2010 02:54 PM
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Pesto is one of my favorite things...I almost always have some in the freezer. I think I'm going to stop for some basil on the way home tonight...sounds so delicious.
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Hector Does Indeed Have a Big Heart
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