Authentic Homemade Pesto

I absolutely love pesto. It’s one of the easiest pasta sauces you can make from scratch, yet it’s bursting with intense basil, garlic, and parmesan flavor. And pasta is just one of many vehicles for consuming this green, garlicky goodness. Pesto also works great as a spread on artisanal breads and crackers, a condiment for sandwiches, or lavishly smeared over grilled chicken and mushrooms. This recipe calls for making pesto the traditional way, using a mortar and pestle, but you could also use a food processor. Continue reading after the recipe to find out why I prefer using a mortar and pestle, and why I think you should too.

Ingredients

• 4 cups of lightly packed basil leaves
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• ¼ cup of pine nuts (almonds and walnuts are fine too)
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• ½ cup of finely grated parmesan
• 2 pinches of salt
• Lemon juice to taste

Directions

1. Drop a generous pinch of salt in your mortar with the garlic cloves. Use a mixture of pounding and grinding actions with the pestle until the garlic is a paste. The salt will help the garlic break down.

2. Add your pine nuts (or whatever nuts you are using) to the mortar and grind into a paste.

3. Add the basil and another pinch of salt to help the leaves break down. If there is not enough room in your pestle for all those leaves, it’s ok to grind them up in batches. Grind all the ingredients until you have a cohesive paste with the garlic, pine nuts, and basil.

4. Stir in the olive oil and parmesan. Give it a taste and add some fresh squeezed lemon juice. Taste again and repeat until you’re satisfied with the flavor. If you are using your pesto as a spread, stop here. If you’re using it for a pasta sauce, continue to step five.

5. When it comes time to drain your pasta, reserve some of the water. Starchy pasta water is great for sauces which is why so many chefs refer to it as liquid gold. Splash in some of the pasta water into the pesto until you get a creamy consistency. Then add a couple of ice cubes to stop the hot pasta water from cooking the basil. Once the ice has melted, toss it into your pasta.

Songs to cook to

• “Come Together” by the Beatles
• “Basil” by Soft Glas
• “Grandmother” by Ohmme

Why you need a Mortar and Pestle

Although pesto is an incredibly simple sauce to cook at home, making the authentic thing requires an unusual kitchen appliance that has been around since ancient times—a mortar and pestle. In fact, this simple tool is so ubiquitous with pesto that it shares a root word—pesta, which means to crush or pound in Greek. Now you could easily take your pesto ingredients and combine them in a food processor, but don’t. Just don’t.

The main reason you want to use a mortar and pestle actually has to do with the flavor. The pounding and grinding action you’ll use to break the basil leaves apart will release more of the herb’s aromatic oils than if you simply chopped up the leaves by hand or in your food processor. And this doesn’t just apply to basil, it’s true of any herb. If I’m making an herby vinaigrette, I’ll always start by grinding my herbs in my mortar to get the maximum amount of flavor. They’re also great for easily crushing up garlic into a paste, which I’ll often use for aioli. Not to mention it is simply more satisfying to watch your ingredients meld into one cohesive sauce or paste through your own actions, rather than by simply hitting a food processor button.

I know many people will still be thinking they’d prefer a food processor for the convenience. After all, grinding things by hand in a mortar and pestle looks like a lot of effort. But you’d be surprised how easy it really is, and, like in this recipe, adding salt will often add even more ease in breaking down your ingredients. Plus, when it comes to cleaning up, a mortar and pestle is far more convenient than a food processor with all of its separate parts and sharp blades. All you have to do is rinse it out with water, and you’re done.

As far as kitchen appliances go, a mortar and pestle set is very affordable. In fact, Amazon sells one for just $26. And if you click on the image below to purchase it, I’ll even get a small kickback (Hey-O!). 

So use your food processor if you just can’t wait for your mortar and pestle to arrive. Otherwise, grab your ancient cooking implements and get to making pesto! And if you try this recipe, let me know how it went in the comments! And stay tuned for more Everyday Gourmet recipes coming out every Friday.