Basil Pesto Spread

     TinyRedKitchen.blogspot.com

I made an amazing cous cous salad last night… BUT I was too lazy to get my camera out of the car. I know, I know.. lazy.

Soo... I have no pictures, which means I’ll wait to make it again before sharing the recipe. What is a recipe nowadays without pictures??? Weird. I was thinking about this the other day... I can’t seem to buy a cookbook unless it has at least one image per recipe! Is this wrong??

Anyway… I don’t have cous cous salad for you, but I did have LOTS OF LEFT OVER BASIL…
which would have gone bad, had I not used it tonight.

When I think basil, two main recipes come to mind, pesto and bruschetta. Surprisingly, instead of having regular stuff like tomatoes, I had pine nuts and fresh grated parmesan. So I went with the pesto. Before I go on, I have to ask, why on earth are pine nuts so expensive?? I bought a tiny 1-oz. container for $8!! Thankfully after getting ripped off twice, I found a giant 4 and a half cup bag at Costco for $14!! Which is why I will never run out :-)


(You will need about 2 tablespoons for this recipe, toasted)

I’ve made pesto a couple of times. Once for a baked brie and a few times for pasta. And usually a quarter of it never makes it to the final dish... simply because it tastes so amazing on its own. As a simple spread on a crusty European style baguette.

I use a mortar and pestle since I like the chunky texture, but a food processor is quicker if you are making large quantities. I always start off by grinding the garlic, having first cut it in half. The garlic is the strongest of the ingredients and should be very well crushed. Then I alternate between all the other ingredients. Some basil leaves, sea salt & pepper (which help grind the basil), parmesan, pine nuts, more basil, olive oil and... so on and so on. 

Make sure to taste the pesto throughout the grinding process. (please do not taste the garlic on it's own...) I start tasting once I've added some salt and cheese... that's when it starts to get good. But you'll notice the changes in flavor as you add each ingredient and you'll notice that each plays an important role. The toasted pine nuts are a must... they make a huge difference. Don't bother making this if you don't have them!! ... (ok, I'm being drastic) but seriously... at least substitute with another kind of nut... I've heard toasted pecans work well.

Once all the ingredients are well-blended and have formed a paste-like spread... you are finished. I'm sure you are hungry by now. I am.

Give this one a shot. Easy enough...

Yes, it does taste as good as it looks. Maybe even better.

Basil Pesto Spread

     yields about 1/2 cup of spread (enough for 2 to 3 people to enjoy as an appetizer on baguette)

1 clove of garlic
1/3 cup of fresh grated parmesan
1 1/2 cups of basil leaves
1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup of olive oil
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste (if it is not salted well, it will not taste great... so make sure you salt and taste)

Heat pine nuts in a pan on medium heat until golden. (No oil or butter necessary.) They tend to burn when you least expect it, so keep an eye on them. Cut garlic clove in half lengthwise and begin to grind using a mortar and pestle until there are no large pieces. The garlic is the strongest of the ingredients and should be very well crushed. Add part of the basil leaves to the garlic, along with some sea salt and pepper and grind to a coarse paste. Add part of the parmesan and pine nuts and continue to grind. Add part of the olive oil and more basil leaves. Continue grinding. Keep this process going until all ingredients have been added, and are ground and well blended. Spread on a crusty baguette and enjoy!