Here is how I make a great pesto in less than 5 minutes
Pesto is a classic in my kitchen. It goes with so many dishes such as crispy roasted potatoes which is our absolute favorite. Pesto is best described as bright and pungent, with a basil-forward, herbaceous garden aroma suspended with fresh olive oil, enriched with pine nuts, and kicked into overdrive with garlic, capers, and lemon zest. This recipe can be traditionally made in mortar & pestle but if you want to speed up the process, go ahead and use a food processor, or a blender.
Ingredients:
A handful of fresh parsley, a handful of fresh basil, a handful of mint, 1/2 lemon zest, 1 lemon juice, salt, 2 Tbs olive oil, 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, 2 garlic cloves, 1 Tbs capers, 1 Tbs dijon mustard.
Prepare:
In a mortar and pestle, start with pulverizing the garlic. Add the salt and continue to mix. Then add the greens and crush until the leaves are fully ground into a paste. Next, add the nuts and grind until everything is smooth. The capers, lemon juice, and the lemon zest are added next while continuing to grind the pesto to make it even smoother but still has a few flecks of green. Finally the extra-virgin olive oil is drizzled in while continuing to mix.
Storage:
Pesto should be kept refrigerated in a closed container with the surface covered in olive oil to prevent the pesto from oxidizing. It can be used for 2–3 days, but after that the basil’s flavor changes and becomes a little bitter.
TIP: you can substitute garlic with green garlic for even more flavor. Pine nuts can also be substituted with walnuts, pistachios, or even hazelnuts. Just make sure they are toasted. The best kind of basil for pesto is doubtless the Genovese variety with small, highly aromatic leaves. The leaves should be cleaned with a paper towel rather than washed with water, and they should be kept whole because bruising the tiny vesicles in the upper surface of the leaves that contain the essential oils would cause oxidization and make the pesto dark green and grassy tasting.
Please let me know if you make this recipe and how you like it.
Enjoy.
