Pesto Pasta
SERVES Makes 2 cups
PREP TIME 10mins
DIFFICULTY Easy
INGREDIENTS
4 bunches basil (about 10 cups, loosely packed)
½ cup (80 g) pine nuts, lightly toasted and cooled
1 ½ cups (150 g) finely grated pecorino and parmesan, loosely packed
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup (250 ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
METHOD
A couple of tips before you start:
To soften the flavour, poach the garlic clove in milk for a few minutes first. It’s essential to the umaminess of pesto, but some people can’t deal with it raw.
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.
This is so straightforward, as with most slurries.
Put everything in a food processor and blend to your desired level of smoothness or chunkiness.
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.
Toss through al dente pasta with a extra pasta water to loosen it all and emulsify.