Here's the basic pesto recipe.
1.5 cups fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
0.25 cup pine nuts
approx 0.75 cup thinly grated parmesan cheese
approx 0.5 cup olive oil
We double up this list of ingredients and make it in a blender. Some people will tell you the only way to make pesto is with a mortar and pestle. I've made it this way and gotten blisters on my hand. So, I'll leave this decision to you.
In the blender, you first add the basil leaves and olive oil. How much oil to use depends on how juicy the basil leaves are. Blend together, then add the garlic and pine nuts. Blend together, then add in the cheese. That's it. We put it into jars and store it in the freezer, making about eight jars of it at a time. You don't ever add pesto to something and then cook it (except maybe soup). You always put the pesto on cooked stuff right before you serve.
Now, here's the real secret to the whole deal: ingredients. The success of your pesto is only as good as the individual ingredients you put into it. So ...
Go right out to a farm and clip off the tops of basil plants that have yet to go to seed. If you don't do this, go to a farm stand and get the freshest basil available.
Get good garlic. Lots of places are selling freshly harvested garlic braids right now. Good time to buy. Hang it in your kitchen and you'll have nice garlic all year and no vampires.
Pine nuts. Get the wrong ones and you'll ruin your recipe. I mean, inedible. I would purchase online from nuts.com
Colavita extra virgin olive oil (first cold press) and Parmesan Reggiano. Go over to Joseph Food Mart, 8235 W. Irving Park Road for these. Go on a Saturday between 11am and 2 pm to hear all the local Italian-Americans gossiping around the butcher counter. A truly delightful experience. Phone 773-625-0118. [Note 10-23-2021: This place has been closed for several years You’ll have to find an alternate source for your Colavita and Parmesan Reggiano]
A couple of notes.
If you are planning to freeze the pesto, freeze it without the Parmesan Reggiano, then add that in after you defrost and prepare to use your pesto.
A family member suggests that the pine nuts be lightly toasted in a cast iron pan, to accentuate the flavor of the nuts. I haven’t tried this - not for use in the pesto itself. I have used some lightly toasted pine nuts on top of the pasta pesto as a finish.
OK, there you have it.
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