Description

Pesto is a delicious, popular sauce to serve on pasta. Pesto comes from the Italian word pestare which means to crush. The ingredients are crushed in a mortar with a pestle.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz. young, fresh basil
• 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
• 6 T. grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 2 T. grated Pecorino cheese
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 T. pine nuts
• a few grains coarse sea salt

Steps

1. Wash basil in cold water; set aside to dry on a towel.
2. In the mortar, crush the garlic cloves with the pestle with a few grains of salt until garlic has softened. Begin adding basil leaves, but don't add all at once.
3. The essential oils of basil are stored in the veins of the leaves. For the best taste, be careful not to tear or shear the leaves. Using a gentle circular motion, slowly crush the basil by moving the pestle around the edges of the mortar. When you see a bright green liquid being drawn from the leaves, it' s time to add the pine nuts.