Homemade Pesto

Like many, I am finding myself with more time to bake/make things from scratch. While I posted my bread adventures a bit ago, I have to admit I haven’t been that ambitious in quite a while. I’m not at the point of making homemade cookies or pasta or stuff like that, but I decided a few weeks ago to borrow my parents’ food processor and make one of my favorites: pesto alla genovese!

I fell in love with pesto In Italy, most specifically, the Cinque Terre (the home of pesto alla genovese). I have high pesto standards, and won’t buy it from shelf-stable jars next to the pasta sauce in the grocery store. It has to be fresh. Ideally I would use my own home-grown basil but the freakishly chilly weather lately seems to have stunted my herb garden’s growth. So, store-bought basil it is.

Basil, in addition to parmeggiano cheese, pine nuts, garlic and evoo (+ a little sale e pepe, if one wishes) is my simple recipe. I think I added a bit too much garlic in this batch, giving it a little more tang than I intended, but it is still pretty amazing and fresh.

I made a video to document my process (I told you I have more time these days). If you have a food processor, it is quite manageable and easy to clean up. It takes me back to homemade lunches in Siena, where I’d cook up a simple pot of penne and top it with fresh pesto. I remember one specific rainy day, making lunch for myself between classes, and just enjoying it while looking out the window and watching the rain trickle down the cobblestone streets. Romantic, eh?

Ingredients

• basil (genovese) - 2 plants

• parmeggiano cheese (the fresher off the block, the better)

• olive oil

• garlic

• pine nuts

• salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy over fresh pasta, or on a flatbread with slices of proscuitto, red chili flakes and mozzarella.