Pesto is the besto! I live by these wise words.
The beauty of pesto is that it's limitless. The aim is to have a paste, made up predominantly of fats, which can be emulsified with pasta water; from there the pesto world is your oyster.
I tend to make pesto with whatever I have lying around, following this general skeleton:
- herbs
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
- nuts/animal fat such as nduja
- a bit of acid
- cheese/charcuterie (for fat and salt)
- other flavour components (usually including garlic)
Today this led to the recipe below:
Ingredients:
1 bunch of parsley
20g manchego
2 Tbsp EVOO
1/2 lemon zest & juice
1 garlic clove
1 handful of mixed nuts (almonds & hazelnuts)
1 pinch salt & pepper
1 Tbsp water
(1 optional mozzarella - whey can be used in the pesto)
Method:
Toast the nuts in a dry pan until they are slightly browned, or warm them in a microwave for 30sec if you are feeling particularly lazy like me
Put all the ingredients (except the water and mozzarella) in a blender and mix until it becomes a paste
Add the water + whey and blend again
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed
Mix into cooked pasta of choice with pasta water and serve topped with mozzarella and EVOO
Comments