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 Pesto Sauce | Status Approved | | Name |  Pesto Sauce | | Category | Sauces & Marinades, Italian | | Difficulty | Easy | | Prep. Time | 5 minutes | | Cook Time | 0 | | Introduction | | The basic ingredients of pesto sauce are common to all these recipes: fresh basil leaves, cheese (either Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino), pine nuts or cashews or a combination of both (anarcardia)garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. The great debate, and the great fun, about pesto is deciding on the proper proportions with which to combine these ingredients and whether to add any extras. Ultimately, with some experimentation, you can make pesto that suits your tastes exactly, just like every cook in Liguria | | Ingredients | | 4 cups basil leaves, well packed
4 cloves garlic , lightly crushed and peeled
1 cup pine nuts or a combination of toasted pine nuts and unsalted, roasted cashews
1-1/2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino cheese (or a combination of the two (I use 80% parmesan 20% pecorino))
1-1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste | | Directions | | Step: 1 | Traditionally, pesto sauce is made by hand with a mortar and pestle. Fortunately, we have food processors and blenders which make the job much easier. Save your energy for other things, like making fresh pasta to go with the pesto, but purists will blame on you!
Place basil leaves and garlic in food processor or blender and process until leaves are finely chopped. Add nuts and process until nuts are finely chopped. Add cheese and process until combined. With the machine running, add olive oil in a slow, steady stream. After the oil is incorporated, turn off the machine and add salt and pepper to taste. If not using immediately, store in an air-tight container with a thin coating of olive oil on top to keep the sauce from turning dark. Pesto will keep well in the refrigerator for a week or more. This recipe yields approximately 3-1/2 to 4 cups, and can be halved.
Using more Pecorino cheese and increasing the quantity of garlic will result a more intense, sharply flavored pesto. The amount of olive oil can be adjusted depending on the desired final consistency (thicker or thinner). |
Time submitted: Thursday, October 21. 2004 at 11:36:58 Contributed By: guido
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