Pestomarsalastyle Recipes

HOMEMADE BASIL PESTO RECIPE

Steps:

• Quickly blanch the basil. Prepare a bowl of ice water and set aside near your stove. Fill a small saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil. Drop the basil leaves in the boiling water and blanch for 5 to 10 seconds or until wilted. Using tongs, transfer the basil leaves to prepared ice water to stop cooking.
• Dry the basil very well. Pick up the basil leaves and wrap them in paper towel and squeeze to wring out all the water.
• Make the pesto. Place the basil, garlic, pine nuts, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade. With the processor running, slowly pour the extra virgin olive oil. Do not run the processor too long, you want to have a little bit of texture to your basil pesto.
• Stir in the Parmesan cheese. Transfer the basil mixture to a small bowl. Add the Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix to combine. If needed add a little bit more extra virgin olive oil to mix.
• Use immediately or store for later (see notes for storage).

CLASSIC PESTO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until golden and fragrant, tossing once, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet to prevent further browning. Let cool completely. In a food processor, combine nuts, basil, cheese, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Process until finely chopped. With machine running, pour oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth.

PESTO - MARCELLA HAZAN

Steps:

• Briefly soak and wash the basil in cold water, and gently pat it thoroughly DRY with paper towels.
• Put the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, chopped garlic, and an ample pinch of salt in the processor bowl, and process to a uniform, creamy consistency.
• Transfer to a bowl, and mix in the two grated cheeses by hand. It is worth the slight effort to do it by hand to obtain the notably superior texture it produces.
• When the cheese has been evenly amalgamated with the other ingredients, mix in the softened butter, distributing it uniformly into the sauce.
• When spooning the pesto over pasta, dilute it slightly with a tablespoon or two of the hot water in which the pasta was cooked.
• Freezing pesto: Make the sauce through to the end of Step 2, cover with a layer of olive oil and freeze it without cheese and butter in it. Add the cheese and butter when it is thawed, just before serving.

PESTO MARSALA STYLE

Steps:

• Chop garlic, basil and the pecorino or Provola cheese. Place in a bowl, add the diced tomato and mix in the olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper and the crushed red pepper (optional).
• It can be refrigerated overnight but it is preferable to use it the same day that it is made.
• To make this sauce for 1 lb. of pasta, use 2 cups of tomato and double the amount of the other ingredients.
• Drizzle some olive oil on top of each dish of pasta and sprinkle with some toasted breadcrumbs for a true Sicilian touch.