Tonic Youth Pesto 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).

BASIL PESTO RECIPE

Steps:

• Wash and dry the basil leaves.
• Place basil into a food processor, add cheese, nuts, garlic cloves, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth.
• Season with more salt to taste if desired.

BASIC PESTO

Steps:

• Pulse the basil, pine nuts, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor or blender until the basil is finely chopped.
• With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil and puree until emulsified. Stir in the Parmesan. To store, transfer to a container, cover and refrigerate up to 5 days.

BASIC PESTO SAUCE

Steps:

• Pulse pine nuts in a food processor until they're completely broken down. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula from time to time. Add olive oil and garlic and pulse until garlic is finely chopped.
• Chop basil very roughly - just run a knife through it once or twice to cut most of the leaves into halves or thirds - then add to food processor. Pulse, stopping every 15 seconds to push the leaves down with a rubber spatula, until basil is entirely worked into the oil. Pulse for another few seconds, and then stop to prevent turning the basil brown.
• Pour pesto base into a bowl and add grated cheese and salt. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Leave the sauce thick to toss with cooked pasta and a little pasta cooking water. To use the pesto as a garnish for grilled or roasted meats, fish and vegetables, thin it out with 2 to 3 more tablespoons olive oil until it's the consistency of a loose paste. To store leftovers, pour a little more olive oil over the pesto to cover. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to three days.

HOMEMADE TONIC WATER

Steps:

• Bring water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves.
• Reduce heat to low; stir in lime zest, lime juice, lemon grass, citric acid, and powdered cinchona bark. Simmer until cinchona is thoroughly dissolved, about 30 minutes.
• Remove from heat; let mixture cool, about 15 minutes. Strain through a colander. Run the syrup through coffee filters or cheesecloth to remove sandy bits of bark.