Normally a food column ends with a recipe. This one is reversed, with the recipe at the top, followed by hints and alterations. This is an exploration of classic pesto, a sauce originating on the Italian Riviera, where basil grows in lush abundance. In gardens, on windowsills, in courtyard pots and wild by roadsides wherever the wind carries its seeds. Blended with Parmigiano cheese, green olive oil and garlic, pesto is the definitive flavor of a strip of shoreline called Liguria.
CLASSIC PESTO
Makes about 1 cup. Produces a bright green, creamy sauce with a bit of texture that easily coats a pound of pasta.
— 2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves, stemmed, rinsed and dried
— Salt, to taste
— 1 clove garlic
— 2 tablespoons pine nuts
— 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, more if needed
— 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Place basil, salt, garlic, nuts and a third of the oil in a food processor or blender. Pulse 4-5 times.
Add the remainder of the oil and process, stopping once or twice, to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Done!
Pesto is summer food, often paired with tomatoes at their peak and creamy mozzarella. I’m starting way ahead of July because so many supermarkets and farmers markets carry bunches of hydroponically farmed (in water in a greenhouse) basil, potted basil plants and plastic boxes of stems and leaves. A little wisdom here: the best basil is still picked from your own garden just before use or bought directly from the farmer and hurried home during the summer months.
In years of making this sauce, here and on its home turf, I developed some tricks and variations.
First the hints: Basil needs to be washed and dried before using or it will darken and taste bitter. Use a salad spinner or place leaves on a single layer of paper towels and roll it up to absorb the water.
Sliver basil leaves into a chiffonade by piling the leaves one on top of another, and rolling tightly together, then cut crosswise. It will resemble blades of grass.
Basil dulls in color during the time between garden and plate. A few drops, up to a teaspoon, of fresh lemon juice added during processing keeps the color bright.
Toss pesto with spaghetti or linguine and serve right away for best flavor! My new favorite pasta shape is cellentani or cavatappi (same shape, different names), a double twisted tube that captures sauce beautifully.
Ligurian cooks often combine the herbal sauce with gnocchi, potato cubes and green beans. You can do this without using three pots. Boil all elements in the same pot, adding each to the boiling water for its optimal cooking time — potatoes first, green beans before the potatoes are fully cooked. Pierce a potato cube with a knife to make sure it is nearly ready. Finally, add gnocchi which will float to the top in mere seconds. Drain in a colander before tossing with the basil sauce. A lovely vegetarian supper!
Once you master the classics, it’s easy to riff on the theme. Here are a few ideas:
This first, called “MINNESOTA PESTO,” a very American version that took first prize in a culinary challenge. Using the classic recipe as a guide, substitute 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves for 1/2 cup of the basil. (The other 1 1/2 cup measure stays the same.) Substitute toasted walnuts for pine nuts. And last, substitute 1/2 cup cream cheese (whipped, not the block kind) for the Parmesan. Skip the garlic.
PESTO BUTTER is a neat accent on fish. Mash four tablespoons of pesto sauce together with a stick of softened unsalted butter. Pack it tightly into a small, covered container and return to the fridge for a few hours. Then spoon it out onto grilled or broiled fin fish or shellfish. Lemon wedges on the side.
ARUGULA PESTO easily substitutes baby arugula for basil. Walnuts stand up better than pine nuts to this green’s assertive character. It’s a glorious match for skinless broiled or baked chicken.
MINT PESTO instantly brightens up a bowl of plain boiled vegetables. Try a drizzle over grilled vegetables, too. Simply substitute fresh mint leaves for basil. Try adding fresh parsley leaves to the mix.
You can even take pesto on an Asian trip processing together cilantro, mint, lime juice and peanut oil instead of olive oil. No cheese here. Toss with toasted peanuts and snap peas or snow peas and Asian noodles. Serve at room temperature.
Basil itself is useful beyond sauce. The leaves might take the place of lettuce in a sandwich or salad. Substitute whole basil leaves for lettuce in a BLT. Or make a BLT of an entirely different character by replacing the fresh tomatoes with sun dried ones, scattering bits of pancetta rather than bacon, between slices of focaccia (available at some bakeries and in specialty bread sections at the market).
Use a few basil leaves to raise the flavor of cold sliced chicken on a croissant, or shrimp salad tucked in pita pockets — just not on a PB&J.
In a green salad, scatter handfuls of smaller basil leaves, or larger ones torn in half. For a variation on potato salad, let basil and olive oil pinch hit for parsley and mayo. Serve this one warm.
Take time to dream fragrant green dreams.
Linda Bassett lived in Marblehead for years and has worked as a cook, trained up-and-coming chefs, studied food history and led food tours. Her book, “From Apple Pie to Pad Thai,” is about local cooks and cooking.
Linda Bassett
Marblehead resident Linda Bassett has worked as a cook, trained up-and-coming chefs, studied food history and led food tours. Her book, “From Apple Pie to Pad Thai,” is about local cooks and cooking.
