You heard me. No blender, no food processor, nothing that goes whir in the night. We are making this pesto like nonna would have in the old country back in the day when the only running water was what trickled down the hillside after a good rainstorm. And once you make this pesto, store-bought will make you absolutely cringe. It's horrifying, the stuff they sell in those little plastic tubs, the taste of it, and the amount of money that they charge you to suffer through it.
I know what you're thinking (internally whining, maybe?) 'Why can't I just use my Cuisinart?' You could, but then you would miss the opportunity for your friends to think you were a true bad ass after you busted out a piece of granite and banged away on a few leaves and nuts, only to emerge with the most amazing pesto they could ever dream of eating. If you want that kind of status, then dispense with the machinery (and the whining), and gather these ingredients:
Basil, olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, garlic, almonds. And you'll need your mortar and pestle.
Almonds? In pesto? Well, traditionally pesto calls for pignoli, or, pine nuts. But I love the crunch and the toasty taste of almonds in my pesto. Don't get me wrong, pignoli are lovely. So, if you want to be traditional, TOAST some pignoli (much tastier than using raw), and get them in your pesto. I'll leave the choice up to you.
The first thing you have to do is toast the nuts. If you're using pine nuts, just pop them in a 350 degree preheated oven for, oh, I don't know, 8 minutes? Until they turn golden. Remember to shake the pan every couple of minutes so your nuts don't overcook on one side and develop a black spot from constant contact with the pan.
If you are using almonds, you will ultimately want to skin them. You can do this one of two ways 1) toast them then rub them between your fingers when they're cool to get *most* of the skin off 2) blanche them to remove all of the skin, and then toast them. I'll show you both ways. But incidentally, I'm using method no. 1, because aside from the crunch, I love the reddish color that the skin remnants impart to the finished pesto. Another factor that makes pesto unplugged so much better. Using a Cuisinart will grind the elements to a singular, boring consistency. When we use a mortar and pestle, we can control how much or little we grind our elements to produce disparate textures and a much more interesting pesto. With a food processor, the pesto arrives at a uniform flavor, while the unplugged way allows you to distinguish the elements, and they still maintain an undeniable harmony.
Method 1) Toast your almonds in a 350 degree oven. When they're properly toasted, pull them out and let them cool.
Then rub them between your fingers,
or put them in a dish towel, fold up the sides to make a sack, and rub them all together vigorously until most of the skin comes off and you end up with this:
Method 2) Blanch your almonds for a minute, drain them in a mesh colander and run cold water over them until they're cool.
Slip the skins like this, they come right off.
Till you get a pile of these for the compost:
And a pile of these:
Which you will pop in a 350 degree oven and toast till golden like this:
Be sure to shake the pan every couple of minutes so that the almonds don't develop black spots from being in contact with the hot pan for so long.
Set your nuts aside, and peel a large clove of garlic. Mine was a monster clove, which was perfect for my pesto because I like it good and garlicky. Now, mortar this clove like mama taught you how over many, many blogs.
Now, get your basil in there, just the leaves, yeah? So, pluck them from their robust stems, and toss them right on top of the garlic.
Now mortar them. Yes, this will take some time. You are going to have to break down all of the fibers in the leaves. Use an up and down motion, a grinding motion, just keep pounding.
And little by little the fibers will break down.
DO NOT be tempted to use salt to create friction like we do when we mortar garlic. You will end up with oversalted pesto. Salt your pesto at the end. And it is very likely that the salt that you used to mortar your garlic may well be enough for your finished product. Keep adding leaves right on top of your mortared basil as you break down one batch after another until you form a smooth paste.
Keep going, till you arrive at this:
Now time to add the nuts.
Grind your nuts, and stop at whatever consistency you want. I like mine relatively crunchy. You could stop here,
Wherever you want. Next, get your olive oil in there.
Don't be cheap. Pesto IS olive oil and garlic and basil and nuts. So, be liberal in your use of ingredients. Your finished product should be glossy like this:
Now get some Reggiano-Parmigiano in here like this:
It's up to you how much. Grate some, stir it in, taste it, add more if you want. The parmesan will soak up some of the oil, so you will probably have to add more oil as you get more cheese in there.
Store your pesto in an airtight container and refrigerate it. It will last a while. Be sure to pour a thin film of olive oil over the top of it before you pop the lid on to keep it from oxidizing. And yes, when you use it again, the top layer will be a little darker. It tastes just fine. You don't have to scrape it off and toss it.
I'm using my pesto for pasta. But don't be limited to that. I also toss it in salads, stir it into scrambled eggs, spread it on toast, put it on seafood and fish, spoon it over hard boiled eggs, stir it into soup...the possibilities are limitless!
A word on making pasta properly. I'm going to dispel the age-old myth of adding oil to your pasta water to keep it from sticking. It's a ridiculous theory, because water and oil don't mix. So, how is oil going to keep your pasta from sticking? It won't. It's a waste of oil. What you SHOULD do is SALT YOUR PASTA WATER LIBERALLY. Why? Because the pasta will absorb the salt and your dish will be thoroughly seasoned. How much salt? Let's say, your pasta water should be about as salty as the sea, or, about as salty as you would imagine your dish tasting. Finally, the only way to keep pasta from sticking is to keep it moving in the pot. So, bring your salted water to a boil, add your pasta and stir for the first two minutes continuously.
This separates the noodles. As the pasta starts to soften and get slick, it will cease to stick and you can stop stirring and let it do its thing. And by god, please do not throw your pasta against a wall to see if it's done! If you want to see if it's done, take a noodle out and taste it! It should be al dente, or 'to the teeth', which means that there should be a little yield in the bite. Nothing grosser than mushy pasta folks. You will lose all of your Italian dinner companions if you overcook your noodles.
I'm having my pesto pasta with a little Calabrian chile. Mmm. So good. If you don't believe that pesto unplugged could be better than pesto made in a food processor I'm sad to say then that you will live your life never knowing one of the seven wonders of the modern world! PESTO!
Mangia bene, vivi felice!