Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- a pinch of salt
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add the crushed garlic cloves to the mortar. Give them a good grind with the pestle.
- Next, add your pine nuts, and continue to mash the two ingredients together. The pine nuts will start releasing their oils. Aim to grind both of the ingredients together into a thick paste.
- Add the basil leaves and a pinch of salt and continue to grind all the ingredients together. Once the basil leaves start to break down, you’ll start to see your pesto slowly taking shape. The basil leaves will thicken the paste, adding moisture and that iconic green color to your pesto.
- Now add in the parmesan cheese, and continue to mash all the ingredients together.
- Continue to mash until your pesto is thick and viscous. You do not need to completely break down all the ingredients.
- Drizzle in the olive oil, giving the sauce a good mix as it is added.
Recipe Notes
You can make this in a food processor as well by adding all your ingredients (except the olive oil) to the food processor and mixing it all together until the paste is formed and then slowly drizzling in the olive oil.
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