If you can’t take the heat, make pesto

Pasta with Pesto

To me, there are a few things that are sure indications of the arrival of summer: the first fireflies, the smell of honeysuckle, and the first pesto of the season.  While you can buy hothouse basil year round, at least in New York City, it’s a pale imitation of the local and seasonal variety.  In addition to being delicious, pesto has the advantage of keeping the kitchen cool on even the hottest of days, requiring no heat besides what’s needed to boil pasta.

Basil is thought to have originated in India, but had made it’s way to Italy several millennia ago; a cheese spread containing basil may have been among other Roman accomplishments.  Pesto as we know it originated in Genoa, probably in the 17^th century, and the word itself is derived from the original method of preparation; the basil and other ingredients were pounded, and even today, esteemed Italian cooking authority Marcella Hazen insists that the best and most authentic and way to prepare pesto is with a mortar and pestle. 

I have a mortar and pestle, languishing at the back of a cupboard.  It was originally purchased for correct and authentic food preparation, and eventually got downgraded to occasional use for pulverizing spices.   Finally, I bought an extra coffee grinder for that purpose, and while it, along with the modern food processor, grind rather than pound ingredients, the difference in texture is negligible, possibly even improved, and preparing food is not meant to be penance or historical reenactment. I suspect that a 17^th century Genoese housewife would have been delighted to have a Cuisinart ™.   

Marcella also tells me that “true” pesto is made with pine nuts and finished with Parmesan and Romano cheeses, and butter.  I do not use butter, but cream, and while pine nuts may be cheap in Italy, they’re expensive in Brooklyn, so I use walnuts. Strictly speaking, pesto is made with basil, but there are many wonderful pesto-like variations that can be made with mint, arugula, or parsley, with different kinds of nuts, and oil in more or less the same proportion.    I’ve even seen varieties without nuts but with the addition of olives, sun dried tomato or another savory ingredient.  The food police will not batter down your door for trying new things.

The following pesto recipe is not the most authentic, but it is the one I make.  I like it.  My kids like it.  You might like it too.

BASIC PESTO

One pound of pasta, made as directed, will serve four hungry people.

Ingredients:

2 Cups fresh basil leaves, washed and patted dry

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed, less if you don’t care for a raw garlic taste

1 Cup shelled walnuts

1 Cup olive oil, extra virgin preferred

1 Cup grated Parmesan

¼ Cup grated Romano

The Method:

• Place basil, walnuts and garlic in the bowl of a food processor, process until coarsely chopped.
• With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil.
• At this point, if you want to freeze some (it will keep for months) do so before proceeding to the next step.
• Turn motor off, add cheeses, and briefly process until just combined.

For pasta with pesto:

• Put water up to boil.  Before draining, reserve a little water, maybe a half a cup.  Drain pasta.
• Combine ¼ C of cream with 1 Cup of pesto and a liberal grinding of black pepper.  If you like, add salt to taste, but keep in mind that the cheese itself is salty. 
• Toss the pesto mixture with one pound of pasta.  If the sauce looks too thick, add reserved pasta water as needed.

While pesto is excellent on pasta, you can also mix it with (preferably homemade) mayonnaise, put it on fish, use it in a sandwich, even mix it with scrambled eggs; you’re limited only by your creativity, and even if you make a single batch, you’ll have plenty left over for experimentation.

About the pasta:  many restaurants use penne.  Italian cooking purists use spaghetti or a fine linguine.  I like a smaller, shaped pasta that will hold the sauce and prefer campanelle, easily available in my traditionally Italian neighborhood.    Go ahead, use whatever shape you like best. 

campanelle

If you’re having a busy week, you can make the pesto the night before.  On your way home from the subway or however you get around, pick up a loaf of crusty bread, and while the water is boiling, you might want to make a tomato and onion salad.  If you happen to have a bottle of crisp white wine, you have a perfect summer meal.

Buon Appetito!