Pesto

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Pesto

Author Lucy Tweed

Ingredients

• 5 bunches basil (about 10 cups, loosely packed)
• 1 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted and cooled
• 1 cup cashews, lightly toasted and cooled
• 2.5 cups finely grated parmesan, loosely packed
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1.5 cup (250 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 head of garlic, roasted

Instructions

A couple of tips before you start

1. To soften the flavour, cut the garlic head in half, oil and salt it the roast it wrapped in foil for 20mins in 180’c fan forced oven
2. To make it the ultimate green, dunk the basil into boiling water then immediately put it in iced water to shock it. Pat off the excess water, then proceed with the recipe.
3. Freshly grated parmesan is the best, and worth it
4. Basil should be vibrant summer basil, not hydro winter basil
5. I have added cashews to help save some money on the nut expenses but you can of course use all pinenuts

1. This is so straightforward, as with most slurries.
2. Put everything in a food processor and blend to your desired level of smoothness or chunkiness.
3. Make sure it’s covered in oil before you pop it in the fridge, where it will keep for 2 weeks. Otherwise you can freeze it in ice-cube trays, then store the little pesto cubes in zip-lock bags in the freezer.
4. Toss through al dente pasta with a extra pasta water to loosen it all and emulsify.

This information is a guide only, and can vary due to a number of factors including precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, or the source of nutrition data.