This basil pesto recipe was taught to Sally by her grandmother, who learned it from her Genovese next door neighbour. It’s best made using a mortar and pestle, but this recipe suggests a blender for convenience.
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 70 g (about 1 large bunch basil)
- 50g (about ½ cup) grated parmesan (if you can get it, Parmigiano-Reggiano) cheese
- 20g (about 1 ½ tbsp) grated pecorino (if you can get it, Sardinian or Romano) cheese
- 70g (about ½ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
- A fat pinch of table salt
Peel garlic, remove the germ, crush and pulse in a blender (or food processor or Thermomix) until minced. Add the pine nuts – there is no need to toast them. Pulse until a chunky paste is formed. Add the basil (leaves only, no stem) and pulse until you have a thick green paste. Add the cheeses, Add the olive oil slowly until you have the desired consistency (we like ours fairly runny, some people prefer a paste).
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