Friday, May 9, 2008

Our Recipe #4: Garlic Pesto Sauce by Sal


Rebecca, a member of "What to Cook Tonight?" Meetup group asked me for a recipe of good garlic pesto sauce. She joined from Des Moine, Iowa! And I asked my two cooking groups' members to give their recipes. Now I'm glad that Sal, a member of LA. Cooking, Recipes, Dining (and French) Meetup group came forward with this one. Other people answered too and I'll introduce them later.

Thank you for sharing your recipe, Sal, whose family is from Sicily. How nice!

"Ok here is my recipe.....I am estimating what I use so the ingredients can be adjusted according to preference:

I cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cups fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup pine nuts
2-4 cloves garlic (adjust to your taste 4 could be strong)

Salt and pepper ...maybe a pinch of each or to your preference

Blend all ingredients in food processor/blender. I usually add the oil in 2 or 3 batches so the blender does not stall or pour oil as a handful of basil gets chopped.

I use any cut of pasta. I prefer to drain the pasta but keep the noodles a little slick as this helps the pesto sauce spread. Usually, this recipe makes enough for 1 pound pasta.

fyi...you can freeze the pesto and use it later. Sometimes I do this when I buy a large container of basil at Trader Joes and use only a few leaves for garnish. Since basil begins to darken quickly, I just make pesto with the rest of the package and freeze.

Ok,,,anymore questions, let me know. Ciao!

Sal"

2 comments:

Sophia Sparx said...

For more great pesto recipes, see http://iheartpesto.blogspot.com

Sally said...

Dear Sophia,

Thank you for your comment, and for the site info! I checked it out and was very much impressed...Wow, so many pesto recipes...! Is this your site? If not, someone's got to have the true love for pesto sauce, I must say. I'd like to try those recipes and wonder if it's OK to cross reference with my group members...