Pesto Genovese

(Italian basil-pinenut sauce)

Yield: about 1 cup

INGREDIENTS	PREP	AMOUNT
Garlic	crushed	2-3 cloves
Basil	leaves only, no stems or flowers	2-3 bunches, or about 2 cups of leaves packed
Pine nuts		1/3 cup
Olive oil		1/2 cup
Parmesan cheese	grated	1/3 cup
Salt & pepper		to taste

Basic Steps: Blend

Place garlic in a food processor and pulse to break into pieces.
Add the basil in batches and pulse to form a roughly chopped mixture.
Add pinenuts and pulse further to mix in well.
Add olive oil and pulse until the mixture comes together and is smooth but still has some texture.
Stir in the Parmesan, salt and pepper and adjust ingredients to your taste.

Substitute walnuts for half or all of the pinenuts.
Arugula may be substituted for the basil if you like. In this case it is best to use all walnuts to stand up to arugula's pungent flavor.
Use half Parmesan and half aged pecorino cheese for a more complex flavor.
Add a tablespoon or so of water to lighten up the pesto a bit if you like.
Pistou (France): follow the above recipe, eliminating the cheese. Use to garnish soupe au pistou.

Pesto Genovese is an ancient recipe and is the classic accompaniment to pasta in the Ligurian town of Genoa. The original method called for careful grinding of the ingredients with a mortar and pestle. The food processor is a little quicker. Exact proportions of the ingredients are much argued over. Follow your own taste.
Pesto is most often used to dress pasta such as ravioli, capellini or trenette. A dollop can also be stirred into vegetable or bean soups or spread on bruschetta or crostini. It can also accompany grilled chicken or fish. Or use it to flavor the salsa balsamella for a vegetable lasagna.
Pesto can be stored refrigerated for 3-4 days or frozen for 3-4 months.