Pesto Genovese
Traditionally, Pesto Genovese is made with a marble mortar and pestle because the steel blades of the food processor tend to bruise the basil, making it very dark green and slightly bitter. But it’s long and tiring work with the mortar and pestle. But not to worry! This recipe uses a food processor plus a few tricks involving ice. In 15 minutes you will have a very delicious pesto sauce, bright green and tasty—not at all bitter!
Servings: 1 cup
Calories: 1200kcal
Cost: $6-$8
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
- large bowl (for ice bath)
Ingredients
- 60-65 small basil leaves about 50g or 2 oz.
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 6 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano about 70g or 2.5 oz.
- 2 tablespoons Pecorino cheese cut into small pieces (30g or 1 oz.)
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 tablespoon pine nuts 15g or about 0.5 oz.
- ⅛ teaspoon coarse salt or to taste (sea salt or kosher salt)
- Ice for chilling basil
Instructions
- lace the bowl and blades of your food processor in the fridge or freezer for 15 minutes.
- Rinse basil leaves in cold water. Submerge in a bowl of ice water for 3–4 minutes. Drain and dry very well with a clean towel—no one likes watery pesto.
- Remove the chilled bowl and blades from the freezer. Add basil, garlic, pine nuts, and grated Parmigiano to the food processor. Pulse just until roughly chopped.
- Toss in the Pecorino pieces and salt, then blend again for about 1 minute.
- Slowly add olive oil while blending in short bursts. Alternate blending and stopping for about 5 minutes until a creamy, bright green sauce forms. Don’t let the mixture heat up!
- Serve over warm pasta (add a spoonful of pasta water to thin if needed), as a sandwich spread, or with toasted bread.
Notes
No food processor? A blender will do—use the “purée” setting. Just don’t overload it.
Batch size: Double for a blender, triple for a food processor. Any more and you’ll be scraping pesto out of odd places for days.
Storage: Transfer pesto to an airtight container and top with a thin layer of olive oil. Refrigerate for 2–3 days.
Freezing: Freeze in small jars or ice cube trays (cover with oil). Keeps frozen for up to 1 year. Thawed pesto lasts about 10 days in the fridge.
Allergy-friendly swaps: Nut-free? Try sunflower seeds. Dairy-free? Nutritional yeast makes a great cheesy stand-in.
Nutrition
Calories: 1200kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 126g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 15g | Monounsaturated Fat: 84g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 897mg | Potassium: 288mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3270IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 576mg | Iron: 3mg
