Pesto in 10 minutes
Making a pesto sauce is very easy, you should invest at most 10 minutes and the result is spectacular.
This time I want to share a basil pesto, I try to make it similar to the original whose origin is in Liguria (Italy), but surely someone from there would have some objection, it’s natural!.
But, what is pesto? Pesto is a mash, a sauce that is traditionally prepared in a mortar, and that combines different ingredients crushed by hand.
The main thing to make a good homemade pesto is the basil, I have some plants at home, but you can always buy a good bunch at the market.
The other ingredient that makes this sauce something very special are the pine nuts, you will find versions made with almonds or any other nut, but the original sauce has pine nuts.
The Pine nuts give it a very special touch, flavor and a slightly creamy texture due to being an oleaginous fruit, its nutritional properties make them a food to take into account.
Tip: If you toast them a little before adding them to the sauce, their flavor and aroma intensify.
Nutritional properties About pine nuts:
- They are seeds, although we consider them nuts.
- They provide fats, they are oleaginous fruits, rich in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids.
- Rich in potassium, phosphorus and magnesium.
- They are low in carbohydrates.
- Quite caloric (683 kcal/100g), but taking into account that these calories come from healthy fats and that small amounts are consumed, it is not a problem.
A good pesto should contain pine nuts, parmesan cheese and the best fresh basil leaves you can find.
Another essential ingredient in a good pesto is Parmesan cheese, it gives it an incredible flavor, try to buy a good one, a real Parmesan, because the flavor is very different, much deeper and with more nuances.
And of course garlic, to taste, there is no exact measurement because it depends on the proportions of the rest of the ingredients, the same thing happens as with other sauces, if you like it stronger, add more, if you want it milder, less.
A good splash of extra virgin olive oil and a little salt, as Parmesan is a quite salty cheese, it is better not to overdo it.
Traditionally, pesto was made in a mortar, by hand, now it is common to do it in an electric food processor, I like to use one that is not too powerful and give it intermittent pulses to get the sauce to have texture.
It doesn’t have to be liquid, it’s much nicer to notice the small pieces of pine nuts, cheese, etc.
Basil pesto is the traditional one, but red pesto, which is prepared with sun-dried tomatoes instead of basil, is also exquisite.
Both are delicious sauces that enhance any dish, don’t hesitate to try them if you haven’t already.
Some ways to consume basil pesto:
- With a good tomato
- Tomato and mozzarella salad
- Zucchini spaghetti
- Stuffed tomatoes
- Pasta with pesto
- As a sauce to accompany fish
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PESTO EN 10 MINUTOS
Ingredients
- 60 g hojas de albahaca fresca limpias y secas
- 1 cda piñones tostados
- 1/2 diente de ajo
- 1 pizca sal marina
- 2 cda aceite de oliva virgen extra
- 50 g queso parmesano
Instructions
- Introduce todos los ingredientes en un robot de cocina que pueda funcionar a baja potencia y por impulsos. También puedes machacarlo a mano en un mortero.
- Sirve la salsa y adereza con ella lo que más te guste, yo la suelo usar para aliñar un buen tomate con mozzarella o para preparar unos zoodles al pesto.
Notes
- Las hojas de albahaca es conveniente lavarlas y secarlas con papel de cocina, desecha los tallos.
- Debes tostar los piñones en una sartén a fuego bajo, con cuidado de que no se quemen.
- Es aconsejable no añadir todo el aceite al principio, mejor añade una parte al final hasta obtener la textura deseada.
- En cuanto a la sal, no especifico la cantidad porque el queso parmesano es muy salado y no vas a necesitar mucha, prueba y ajusta a tu gusto.
- Si haces la salsa en un robot, ten en cuenta picar poco a poco, con impulsos cortos, y a baja potencia, no hay que obtener una salsa líquida, deben quedar pequeños "tropezones".
- Tradicionalmente esta salsa se hace a mano en un mortero.