Pesto Sauce Recipe - Once Upon a Chef (2024)

FAQs

How do you make Bobby Flay pesto? ›

1st Place Winner: Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto

Kirkland's pesto comes closest to homemade versions thanks to its coarse texture and big, bright flavor. I tasted everything in this one—fresh garlic, herby basil, and salty Parmesan!

Add a pinch of salt if the basil tastes too bitter or the pesto needs more zing. Add more Parmesan if you'd like a creamier/cheesier pesto. If desired, you can thin out the pesto with more olive oil.

Add nuts, garlic, zest of 1 lemon and salt to a food processor and pulse into a fairly smooth paste. Add cheese to nut paste and add about 3 tablespoons EVOO; process until smooth. Pulse process basil into sauce until fairly smooth, adding juice of 1 lemon and remaining EVOO.

Traditional pesto is a blend of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, extra-virgin olive oil, and Parmesan cheese.

Start with buying the freshest ingredients you can find. The best tip I've learned so far when making Pesto ala Genovese is to ditch the blender and food processor and make it by hand, using a mortar and pestle. It doesn't take very long, and the texture and flavor are superior.

Barilla Pesto Alla Genovese, $5

I love this traditional pesto, made using Italian ingredients. It's light and creamy, with a delightful cheesy flavour – I think it's probably the closest supermarket product you can get to a homemade creamy pesto.

Homemade basil pesto is a wonderfully versatile and tasty sauce/spread made from a handful of flavorful ingredients. It comes together in minutes and tastes worlds better than store-bought because it's so fresh.

The most common reason for pesto tasting bitter is that the olive oil is past its best and has started to turn rancid. If the pesto has been made in a food processor or blender, there's also the possibility that it has turned bitter from the crude, sheering action of the blades.

Why is pesto so expensive? ›

Italian pine nuts are considered the finest in the world and are therefore eye-wateringly expensive. To make cost savings, many big producers source their pine nuts from China. Not a big issue, you might think, but these pine nuts are notorious for leaving a metallic aftertaste for some people, and that can last weeks.

Yes, pesto can be used straight from the jar and doesn't require cooking or heating. In fact, we actively discourage applying too much heat to pesto, as this will destroy many of the fresh flavours that producers work so hard to retain.

Probably oxidation from the basil starting to turn. You could try adding a little lemon juice to slow the process and maintain freshness but homemade pesto isn't going to keep for more than a few days.

If the pesto remains too thin, one can mix in a small amount of starch or use pasta water to achieve the desired thickness. The starchy water adds thickness without altering the flavor significantly. Add a tablespoon of pasta water and mix well; repeat if necessary until desired thickness is reached.

The basic ratio is 1:2:2:8 (1 part nuts, 2 parts oil, 2 parts grating cheese, 8 parts leaves or herbs), plus garlic, lemon, and salt and pepper to taste.

THE BOTTOM LINE: While we don't recommend using the thicker stems from a bunch of basil, it's perfectly fine to make the most of your basil bunch and put the younger, more tender stems to use. 1. Don't process thick stems in pesto.

FAQ: How Long Does Homemade Pesto Last? You can store this basil pesto in a jar or sealable container, then tightly seal and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2–3 months. Let it thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator.