Making Il Pesto
Take one basil plant
De-leaf it so that you have...
about two handfuls.
Take a handful of pine nuts (boy are they expensive) and place on a baking tray. You need to place them in the oven to warm them through to enhance the flavour. Do not toast them!!
In the meantime pop the basil leaves into a 'voory vorry' (food processor) with...
half a clove of garlic (the picture is of half a bulb of garlic...don't put that much in...eek).
Voory Voory!! It should look like this afterwards.
Now that your pine nuts have warmed through (Not toasted), place them in the processor with the basil and garlic mixture and 'voory voory' them together.
This mixture is a kind of stodgy mush. Never fear, it will get better with a few extra steps.
Grate a handful of Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan cheese)
Pop it into your mixture with olive oil and stir (a teaspoon is good for this). There should be enough olive oil in there to make the sludge into a gloopy pesto-ey consistency. Don't forget to season with the salt and the pepper. If you want it more cheesy then add more cheese... counteract the consistency with more olive oil.
This is the consistency you are looking for....mmmm....it smells like pesto now! This will keep in the fridge for quite a long time. Make sure there is enough olive oil to keep it moist. The taste will mature with age!
Serve with pasta (spaghetti is good). Last night I made risotto bianco and served it with that. Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum!! It is also good with gnocchi!
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