How to Make Basil Pesto Sauce
Pesto is a tasty sauce and is ideal for numerous Italian pasta recipes, such as mushroom rigatoni with pesto sauce. This delightful pesto broccoli and walnut-penne recipe highlights the herb’s great versatility.
Alternatively, check out our smokey chorizo and creamy mushroom pasta recipe. This is a filling basil dish that uses a creamier version of the classic pesto sauce. Either way, knowing how to cook your own pesto with fresh basil leaves allows you to use this tasty herb in numerous different dishes, from pizza toppings to deeply seasoned pasta recipes.
Here’s what you need to do.
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Pick a large bunch of leaves from your basil plant or use a fresh bunch from the supermarket.
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Put a small frying pan over medium heat and roast 100 grams of pine nuts. If you don't have these, you can substitute unsalted cashews or make a pesto sauce without nuts.
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With the nuts browned, remove them from the heat and allow them to cool.
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Add 150 grams of Italian hard cheese into a food blender. You can use any hard cheese, but Italian-style hard cheese traditionally goes into Ligurian pesto.
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Peel and crush one clove of garlic and add it to the food blender with all the basil leaves removed from their stems.
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Pour 200 ml of olive oil into the blender and combine the ingredients by blitzing them.
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Add salt and pepper to taste. For an extra flavour sensation, squeeze the juice of half a lemon.
