Pesto....uuuum

[Dan 2]

Hi! Does anyone have any good recipes for a pesto sauce as Im growing basil this year, cheers, Dan :-)

[Dan 2]

[tim]

I'm afraid I just look in the book when I want to do it!

[Dan 2]

I will be confined to my quarters with a cookery book then! I should have asked if anyone knew how to'jazz up' the recipe!

[tim]

" - and all that jazz"!!

Why?? What more than garlic, basil, pinenuts, parmesan, olive oil & salt??

[Dan 2]

In shops you can get tomato pesto...a bit more jazzed up?!  :-\

[euronerd]

Why not make one up? I mean, start with a batch using a basic recipe, then divide it up and add bits of stuff you find in your cupboard to each. Tomato paste? Chillies? Mustard? Cumin? Other?  Maybe next time you're near a jar of "jazzed up" pesto, have a look on the label (for anything you can recognise) and make a note. I have endless fun doing this sort of thing. Not for the purists of course.

Geoff.

[tim]

If it's that jazzed up, it's not "pesto"??

[euronerd]

Not for the purists of course.

Was merely trying to be helpful to the man  ;D

[supersprout]

In my old age Dan I'm getting a bad case of 'less is more'. Pound roughly fresh basil leaves and enough olive oil to mix. Add salt or grated Parmesan/Pecorino, and mix with fresh pasta. Eat ;D Rustic, eh?

Quantities aren't exact for this sort of thing, especially if you pound by hand and can notice how the texture/taste changes, so you can adjust.

If you have garlic, pine nuts, walnuts, Pecorino, Parmesan, chilli, tomatoes, cumin, crushed black pepper et al in your cupboard, it makes sense and can be fun to use/experiment with them. I can't grow basil :'( :'(

[Curryandchips]

I agree on the 'less is more' approach, but am surprised to see you abstain on the garlic?

[tim]

Geoff - I wasn't knocking anyone!
Just saying that 'pesto' is 'pesto' - but if you like a particular flavour, go with Sprout & make something different.

And Sprout - why no basil? Tell me elsewhere?

[euronerd]

Me neither Tim. It's so difficult without the intonations and facial expressions to convey exactly ones message don't you think?  ???

SS and Curry - Yes a lot of the time I prefer rustic, but just sometimes I'm like a kid playing in the water.  ;D

Geoff.

[Dan 2]

Thanks for sour suggestions everyone! At least this is an...um...interesting discussion!  :)

[Hyacinth]

'sour suggestions' Dan? LOL

Pesto I go the traditional route, too , like Tim, but ONLY because I learned it when I was an au pair in Italy (in the olden days ;))..went like this...1)go into the pine woods & pick up the nuts......etc.etc. It was a pestle and mortar job, too - no blenders/food processors around. Cheese -  parmesan grated fresh from the block (PS anyone else put the rind of parmesan in their soups?) or pecorino...

Less trad. recipes have walnuts & sun-dried tomatoes, etc. All nice, but not the classic pesto?

[Hyacinth]

I can't grow basil :'( :'(

SS the only basil I can grow from seed with any guaranteed success is thai basil, SO..I buy a pot of 'growing herbs'basil, divide it usually into 2, pot up, keep in the g/house and hey presto! basil in abundance :)

[supersprout]

1)go into the pine woods & pick up the nuts......etc.etc. It was a pestle and mortar job, too - no blenders/food processors around.

those were the days lishka eh, tell that to the young people nowadays, tsk etc. I have gone back to traditional mixing methods, possibly to ward off bingo wings :-[, and I DO put the Parmesan rind into the soup  ;D ;D