Pasta with Pesto Sauce
(I also had salad with leftover Nicoise vinaigrette)
(This is not the actual picture. I'm sorry--I forgot.)
Meal: Dinner
Who made it: Mom (she makes AWESOME pesto sauce)
Tastyness: 9/10
Healthyness: 9/10
Comments: Mom's pesto sauce is AMAZING. However, it only got 9/10 because it was leftover (she made it last night and served it tonight), and it's always better on the first day. The meal was very healthy, especially with salad.
Here is Mom's pesto recipe. It comes from a Marcella Hazan cookbook (Mom doesn't use the butter. She also uses walnuts instead of pine nuts, and I actually like it better!):
Pesto - Marcella Hazan
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine before putting in the processor
Salt
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated (parmigiano-reggiano)
2 tablespoons pecorino romano cheese, freshly grated (or pecorino fiore sardo)
3 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
Directions:
1. Briefly soak and wash the basil in cold water, and gently pat it thoroughly DRY with paper towels.
2. Put the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, chopped garlic, and an ample pinch of salt in the processor bowl, and process to a uniform, creamy consistency.
3. Transfer to a bowl, and mix in the two grated cheeses by hand. It is worth the slight effort to do it by hand to obtain the notably superior texture it produces.
4. When the cheese has been evenly amalgamated with the other ingredients, mix in the softened butter, distributing it uniformly into the sauce.
5. When spooning the pesto over pasta, dilute it slightly with a tablespoon or two of the hot water in which the pasta was cooked.
It seems difficult, but it's not. It's SO GOOD and SO EASY. Probably the best no-cook pasta sauce ever.
Sincerely,
Ms. Foodie
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