Firstly I just want to apologise for the lack of updates recently. Things have been a bit trying lately but I am hoping to be able to post a bit more regularly from now on. Thanks for your patience and your continual support it means a lot 🙂
Basil and garlic sauce (pesto).
The name pesto is actually a term used to describe anything that is made by pounding which is why you can find many varieties of pesto. The most popular variety of pesto is pesto alla genovese. This pesto is made with basil, garlic, hard cheese and olive oil.
Pesto can be used as a sauce on things like chicken, fish or stirred through pasta. It can used in sandwiches or on crackers in fact it can be used in so many different ways.
When I found the Edmonds recipe I was excited to give it a try as I am a huge fan of pesto.
The recipe can be found on page 105. My reaction to this recipe is not good. I cant think of a single positive. The recipe is flawed in so many ways and the end result backs that up.
Firstly, you are asked to cook pine nuts in a ridiculous amount of oil. You do drain them but by this point the pine nuts have taken up way too much oil. That actually brings me to the oil. It doesn’t state to use olive oil so I did what most kiwis would do and reached for a generic oil like canola oil. Canola has no real flavour so it’s not going to add anything to the pesto.
The other thing that stood out to me was it didn’t have any parmesan or other hard cheese in it. This finished sauce tastes bad. It’s so oily and you cant taste the basil. Everyone that tasted it hated it. It was a waste of time and ingredients.
Here is my recipe for you to try. Pesto should be fresh and moreish. Hopefully my recipe ticks those boxes.
Until next time. Happy cooking! 🙂