Hey pesto - your pesto tips and tricks wanted

I’ve only ever bought one jar of pesto but never since as they always put vinegar in it and other stuff to preserve it and I don’t like the taste. I always make my own as we grow basil every summer in our little igloo. And we also grow garlic in the vegetable garden. I don’t really use a recipe, just the standard ingredients: basil, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, a bit of salt, grated parmesan and… pine nuts, an indulgence I know. I have also used almond meal which is quite nice, and have also made pesto using fresh coriander and macadamia nuts - delicious! I freeze most of the pesto in small plastic containers, about 1 cubic inch, which a friend brought me back from Canada years ago, for the purpose, and defrost when needed. We mainly use it as a spread on bread but occasionally on pasta.

On the question of garlic, it is imperative not to store garlic in oil for more than two or three days, because of the risk of botulism. I do know that you can ferment garlic in honey(whole peeled cloves in a small jar and top with honey). Friends from our local permaculture group have been doing it for some time. It also keeps for a long time.

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I make it when I have enough basil or if it’s cheap, and buy it in a jar out of season. Home made is best, but a jar will do, providing it has mostly the correct ingredients!
We enjoy it with pasta, on bruschetta with tomato and goat’s cheese, smeared on salmon or chicken before baking, mixed into salad dressing, mixed through rice (Delia Smith has a great rice salad using pesto).

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I recommend using Italian brands of pesto = eg Sacla of Barillo. These have a rich green colour and are delicious.

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Apparently making pesto with a mortar and pestle gives superior results to using a food processor.

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That’s interesting, would you tell us why that would be so?

Read this article - should explain everything:

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Absolutely brilliant.

Except to explain why many of us purchase pre-made product. Although after reading how to make your own to perfection, it may be self evident.

Now all I need is …! The cost of the return airfare to Italy (if possible) would also be a minor inconvenience. :yum:

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Thank you so much for this link - it explains things really well. And the information about different mortars & pestles was edifying. The Italian version will be a great gift, especially is it can become a heirloom!

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I prefer to make my own - the premade ones are a bit oily for me. Bunch of basil, blanched almonds (a lot cheaper than pine nuts), a few garlic cloves, a good chunk of qualaity parmesan, a few cherry tomatoes in the food processor. While it’s blitzing I stream in EVOO.

The quantity makes two good sized (re-used jam) jars, and one goes to a friend.

I like it chunky, and use it as a pasta sauce especially with a few chicken and feta cheese morsels. Also dollop on home made pizza.

Friend eats it as a dip.

I forgot! Also a few anchovies.

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For anyone looking for a pesto recipe may I suggest looking for:
“Pesto Genovese” in the title, this is the traditional, classic, pesto of the Ligurian region.
Whereas: “ Pesto Alla Genovese” could mean using ingredients and methods which differ from the original one: a different type of herb, of nuts, cooked garlic, adding lemon juice, and other ingredients, and so on…

I’d like to stress that the basil leaves should be dried well, water on them will lead to oxidation, and to mould in any leftover pesto.

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Welcome to the forum Boris @Boris . I always use a mortar and pestle for making Pesto .

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I always dream of having enough basil to make a decent amount - one certainly couldn’t afford to buy it at the super, and not everyone has Ligurian hillsides nearby … so what is the trick to having buckets of basil ready for the task ? (I imagine @gordon probably has half an acre of it ready to harvest at any one time, but … :wink: )

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Yep I can imagine Gordon would have the Basil on hand at all times DR .

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Your very own herb garden.

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Basil with vegetables, tomatoes, etc great.

For trout lemon, dill, coriander, rosemary, ginger, garlic, oh and yes, there are recipes for trout with basil. Dill might be the easiest to find for some. I’ve seen it growing as a weed along the Namoi as well as other river systems.

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Sadly I don’t have very much right now, the frost killed most of it, but in a few weeks I’ll plant out more, as I have plenty of seeds from previous crops :slight_smile: I do have enough to use in cooking occasionally, but there is only so much you can take from 4 small plants! Pesto will have to wait.

At one stage I thought I might aim to become the pine nut tycoon of Loomberah (they are so expensive in the supermarket) but the small forest (well, 15 trees) of stone pines have yet to produce any pine nuts. The oldest of them are about 5m tall and sometimes look like they are going to pop out some proper cones… but I live in hope that one year soon it will happen!
Then I shall become the local pesto king!

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Basil is really easy to grow. You need a spot with warmth and at least part sun. Unless you are tropical start in spring. Next time you buy a bunch select a few nice looking stalks and trim off all but the top few leaves. Put them in a jar of water in a warm place with light and they will sprout roots. Plant them out in odd corners of the garden or a pot. Keep watered especially in hot weather. If your winter has cold patches they will die, keep the seeds for next spring. If they get very leggy cut quicker (make more pesto) or start again with new cuttings in a sunnier spot.

This method works for Thai basil and other cultivars too.

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You need a number of plants as when it is pulverised, what seems like a large volume of leaves turns into nothing.

When we lived in Brisbane we would bave at least 6-8 plants which grew around 60-80cm in height. These gave enough for the odd pesto, salsa verde and other uses (salads, pasta on grilled tomato, toastie etc). Follow on crop was planted when plants were about 40-50cm in height. Being leafy, they need good free draining soil with regular watering and fertilising. If they suffer moisture stress, yield will be significantly impacted.

Having moved to Tassie, the growing season is very short and may be to extend the season, might have to place in a grow tube to protect from frost…frost is the death of basil plants.

Basil also grows easily from seed and seed store from this year for next years plants.

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But look on the positive side with an endless supply of free fennel.

Every time we have visited Tassie, we have seen it growing along the sides of roads everywhere.

Perhaps an opportunity for fennel pesto?

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Yes, and dill (herb type) pesto too. Other herbs …parsley, oregano, garlic etc do well too.

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