Pesto sauce came to modern cuisine from the middle of the 18th century. It is a classic Italian appetizer made with basil, pine nuts and cheese. The meaning of the word "pesto" is "pound, grind in a mortar." This is how, rubbing the main ingredients, in ancient Italy they prepared the sauce.
A necessary kitchen appliance was a marble mortar. In addition, the housewives gradually added olive oil, and the whole mass turned into a tasty and nutritious sauce.
Modern cuisine has made its changes. In some countries, wild garlic, tomatoes, pine seeds, almonds are added - and these are not all variations on the Pesto theme. It is added to a variety of meat and fish dishes, pasta, potatoes and simply spread on a piece of rye bread. Pesto sauce adds a special piquancy and flavor to everything you cook. Having prepared it once, you will feel that it will be a special sauce on your table. So, let's begin…
Pesto sauce - a classic Italian recipe
We invite you to prepare Pesto sauce according to all the canons of Italian cuisine. The perfect combination of tastes, the secrets of cooking with an Italian accent - you will find this only in this recipe. Let's get ready and check it out.
We will need:
- Basil leaves - 30 gr.
- Cheese "Parmesan" - 70 gr.
- Pine nuts or - 70 gr.
- Olive oil - 2 tbsp. l.
- Garlic - 5-7 cloves
- Salt - a pinch
Cooking:
To prepare the sauce, we need a mortar. You can use any variation of this kitchen appliance. The main function is to crush the ingredients. We use only the leaves of basil.
We rub the cheese on a fine grater.
First of all, put garlic and salt in a mortar. We crush until a puree state.
Gradually start adding basil leaves. Their number can be divided into 4-5 parts. Add the first batch of leaves.
We push with a pestle from a mortar to such a state.
After the leaves in a mortar, we fall asleep nuts. In pesto sauce, it is not necessary to grind into a fine puree. It is enough to crush the nuts into medium-sized grains.
We send part of the grated cheese. Focus on the size and capacity of your mortar. Pound in a mortar and mix well. At the end, add olive oil and mix. The sauce is ready to use.
It can be spread on rye bread or added to pasta. Italian piquancy and unique taste will make any dish very tasty and original.
European take on the classic pesto sauce
We will need:
- Basil - 50 gr.
- Pine nuts - 30 gr.
- Cheese "Parmesan" - 70 gr.
- Olive oil - 70 ml
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Juice of half a lemon
- Salt to taste
Cooking:
We prepare the necessary ingredients. Remove the leaves from the stalks of the basil, wash, let the excess moisture drain. You can lightly dry with paper towels.
Roast the pine nuts until golden. This will give a very piquant flavor to our sauce.
Then add the following ingredients to the blender bowl - basil and garlic.
Sprinkle cooled pine nuts
Add grated cheese, juice of half a lemon, olive oil and salt.
Grind with a blender to a puree. We put it in a saucepan and serve it on the table.
Homemade Pesto Sauce Recipe Without Parmesan
Let's try to make a sauce without cheese. And beans will give us the desired consistency and original taste. Interested? Then let's get started.
We will need:
- Pine nuts - 20 gr.
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Canned white beans - 3 tbsp. l.
- Olive oil - 2 tbsp. l.
- Basil - 3 medium bunches
- Salt, pepper - to taste
Cooking:
Roast the pine nuts in a frying pan. We strain the beans on a sieve.
We cut the garlic into pieces. Remove the leaves from the stems of the basil. We wash them and let excess moisture drain.
We send the beans to the blender bowl and grind.
Add the rest of the ingredients, grind with an immersion blender.
After a few minutes, we get the finished sauce. This version of the sauce is lightweight, fat content and calorie content is reduced by adding beans instead of cheese.
Cooking Broccoli Pesto Sauce
Add this sauce to any meat or fish dish! You will immediately feel the original taste that "Pesto" with broccoli gives. We guarantee you usefulness and originality.
We will need:
- Olive oil - 70 ml
- Water - 80 ml
- Celery with leaves - 1 stalk
- Basil leaves - 15 gr.
- Parsley - 20 gr.
- Broccoli - 100 gr.
- Pine nuts - 30 gr.
- Cheese "Parmesan" - 30 gr.
- Balsamic vinegar - 2 tsp.
- Garlic - 2-3 cloves
- Ground black pepper - ¼ tsp
- Salt - 1 tsp (no top)
Cooking:
To prepare the sauce with broccoli, we will immediately deal with pine nuts. If you do not have them in stock, you can replace them with regular walnuts. So, fry the nuts in a pan until golden brown.
Cheese three fine grater. Wash the greens thoroughly and dry with paper towels. We prepare the ingredients we need on the table. We use a food processor as a grinder.
We put all the greens in the bowl. Add grated cheese, cooled nuts, garlic.
Pour olive oil, water, pepper, salt, vinegar. The last ingredient can be replaced with regular vinegar (if you do not have balsamic). Cover the bowl of a food processor and grind. If the sauce is too thick, you can add a little water.
The result is a delicious sauce that can be served immediately.
Original beetroot sauce
As we said earlier, pesto sauce is very popular in Italy. In Austria, it is prepared on the basis of pumpkin seeds, and in Germany from wild garlic. We invite you to cook this dish with beets. It turns out tasty, but most importantly - very useful.
We will need:
- Boiled beets - 400 gr.
- Roasted pine nuts - 60 gr.
- Garlic - 3-4 cloves
- Parmesan cheese, grated on a fine grater - 3 tbsp. l.
- Olive oil - 2 tbsp. l.
Cooking:
The main ingredient of this dish is boiled beets. We cut the pre-boiled beets into cubes.
We also cut the garlic into small pieces. Three cheese on a fine grater, fry the nuts.
We put all the ingredients in a blender.
Grind for 1-2 minutes. And we get a delicious Pesto sauce with a special national flavor. It can be eaten with meat, fish, mashed potatoes, pasta.
And if you spread it on pieces of fried black bread, then enjoy an unusual flavor combination.
How to make Zucchini Pesto
Ready for another version of Pesto Sauce? Here we will replace part of the basil with zucchini, and pine nuts with regular peanuts. Most likely it will be a variation called "budget Pesto"
We will need:
- Cheese "Parmesan" - 100 gr.
- Young zucchini - 250 -300 gr.
- Basil - a few leaves
- Mint - a few leaves
- Salt - to taste
- Olive oil - 5-6 tbsp. l.
- Garlic - to taste, about 1-3 cloves
- Any nuts (pine nuts, peanuts) - 3 tbsp. l.
Cooking:
Fry the nuts, three cheese on a fine grater.
Three zucchini on a grater. Sprinkle salt on top.
We put it in a sieve or colander.
Put the nuts and basil leaves in a blender bowl. Grind these ingredients right away.
Then add zucchini. And the rest of the ingredients on the list. If your sauce is too thick, you can add a few tablespoons of zucchini juice.
The sauce is ready. It can be served on the table with any dish: pasta, fish or meat.
Pesto Sauce with Lemon Juice and Peanuts
An excellent sauce with a refreshing and bright taste.
We will need:
- Basil - bunch
- Peanuts - 45 gr.
- Garlic - 2 cloves
- Lemon juice - 1 ½ tbsp. l.
- Olive oil - 5 tbsp. l.
- Cheese "Parmesan" - 30 gr.
- Salt and black pepper - to taste
- Sugar - ½ tsp
Cooking:
Place the basil leaves in a blender. Add peanuts, grated cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, sugar, garlic and pepper.
Grind with a blender for 1-2 minutes.
If you have prepared too much sauce, you can freeze it, and then take it out of the refrigerator at the right time and use it in any dish. To do this, put it in a container with dividing segments and send it to the freezer.
Our sauce is ready.
Pesto sauce with red and green basil for the winter
Sauce prepared in the classic way can be stored for up to 10 days in the refrigerator. We invite you to prepare sauce for long-term winter storage. If you live in the countryside and you have grown large basil bushes in late autumn, then this recipe is for you.
We will need:
- Red and green basil leaves - 1 kg
- Hot red pepper - 2 pcs.
- Sweet pepper - 2 pcs.
- Garlic - 1 head
- Salt (not iodized) - 1.5 tsp.
- Sunflower oil - 2 tbsp. l.
Cooking:
We remove the leaves from the branches of basil, if the shoots are young, they can be used with stems.
Wash and dry the basil by laying it out on a large towel.
We prepare the pepper, remove the seeds and partitions. My garlic.
Using a meat grinder, twist the basil leaves into a bowl. Add garlic, hot and sweet pepper.
Add salt, sunflower oil and mix thoroughly.
We transfer the finished mass into small jars. Keep the sauce in the refrigerator for a long time. Add to various meat and fish dishes.