When serving this over pasta, I add a generous amount of freshly ground pepper and a squeeze of lemon or lime. Of course, shredded cheese (such as Parmesan Reggiano, and, oddly enough, sharp English cheddar) is a frequent partner here with pasta; if I don’t add cheese, I just add a bit of sea salt.

Other than pasta, I’ve been known to put pesto on fish. And sandwiches, especially those with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pine nuts; try out other nuts, such as pistachios
• 2 large bunches of basil
• 1/2 bunch of Italian (flat leaf) parsley
• cloves from 4 heads of garlic, papery skins removed
• a bottle of extra virgin olive oil; you’ll probably end up using less than 1 cup

Method

1. Roast the pine nuts at 400F degrees until lightly golden and aromatic, about 7 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Wash and remove the stems from the basil and parsley. I dry them off in a salad spinner afterwards.
3. Place the garlic, nuts and as much of the greenery that will loosely fit into a food processor or blender.
4. Pour in about a 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the olive oil. Pulse to blend, stopping to scrape down the sides of the processor.
5. Add more leaves, and oil as needed. Blend the items to desired: I prefer a somewhat roughish pesto, not too liquidy and smooth, but not too pasty either.
6. Store the pesto in ice cube trays, topped with a thin layer of olive oil. I freeze them, then pop them out and defrost as needed. One cube works well in pasta for 1 or 2 persons.

Don’t be deterred by the large amount of garlic. As long as it hasn’t been whizzed into a pulp, the slow cooking will give the garlic a mellow, if not somewhat creamy flavor —yes, sounds odd, but good!

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch of basil
• 6 cups fresh (preferably naturally sweet) tomatoes; if you don’t have fresh tomatoes, Muir Glen provides very good canned ones
• cloves from 1 large head of garlic
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method

1. Remove the stems from the basil and roughly chop the leaves.
2. Briefly blanch (about 30 seconds) the tomatoes in boiling water. Peel then chop.
3. Peel and mince the garlic, but not so fine that it becomes a liquid or paste.
4. Combine the basil, tomato, garlic and olive oil in a sauce pot. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Stir occaisionally to prevent the ingredients from sticking to the pot.
5. Lower the heat and continue at a gentle simmer, uncovered.
6. Cook until thickened to desired consistency. This could take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot over freshly made pasta.