Marcella Hazan is the chef that taught me how to cook authentic Italian. She was tough and demanded authentic ingredients and no short cuts, but the recipes are timeless and still work today as well as they did 30 years ago. If you want one cookbook on Italian cooking, you can’t go wrong with her classic, “Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking”.
Summer is the perfect time to make pesto. With all the rain we’ve been having, my basil has been going crazy. There are many recipes for pesto, but I think Marcella gets the balance just right. I make a small change, because I’m not a huge fan of pine nuts. I’ve even seen authentic recipes from Genoa where they use walnuts, but I love pecans, so that’s my hack. Of course you can use whatever you prefer.
Additionally, while many pesto recipes do not use butter, I feel it gives a great flavor. It’s your choice. Finally, the mortar and pestle method is considered by many to be the best way to prepare pesto, but I have a method I use were I can use a mini prep processor and get excellent results. Again, your choice.
Ingredients:
1 lb Pasta, I think fusilli, orecchiette or farfalle work well, as the ridges catch the pesto.
2 cups Genovese basil leaves, tightly packed, no hard stems.
1/4 – 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil, you’ll need the 1/2 if you choose to skip the butter.
2 cloves Garlic, crushed with flat side of your knife and finely minced
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
2 Tbsp Pecans or Walnuts or pine nuts if you like them.
3 Tbsp Butter
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
1/4 cup finely grated Romano
Preparation:
Before you begin, take you food processor bowl including blade and top and pop it into the refrigerator. This will help you from overheating the pesto.
Put the salt, nuts and garlic and 1/4 cup of olive oil into the food processor and pulse until you get a smooth consistency. Then add your basil in in batches, just pulsing gently until fully incorporated. Transfer into a bowl and fold in the butter and cheese by hand until the mixture is smooth and cover and put into the refrigerator. It can start to blacken if left on the counter.
Take your pesto out of the refrigerator. Start the water for pasta, once its boiling give it a heavy dash of salt. Add in your pasta. About 4 minutes before the pasta is done scoop out some hot pasta water and set aside.
Cook the pasta for another 2 minutes, drain and add the pasta back to the cooking pan. Add the pesto and a splash of the pasta water over very low heat and stir to coat the pasta for an additional 2 minutes. You may not need all of the reserved pasta water. Serve with additional cheese as desired.
The Louisville Chef 