Basil pesto without garlic
This recipe for basil pesto without garlic, is perfect for those who do not tolerate garlic, but love pesto.
Pesto is a delicious condiment which can be used in so many ways especially in lifting the flavors of soups, salads and spreads, as well as lifting a pile of pasta into dizzying gastromonic heights!
This particular recipes has been recommended by the Ligurian Pesto Consortium – and they should know!
As well as not requiring garlic, many pesto recipes require no extra salt as the cheese provides it. With very little time, few ingredients and tools you will be able to enjoy your basil pesto without garlic.
The secret to making the best basil pesto
There are only 2 main secrets to making the best basil pesto. The first secret is to choose the best, unblemished basil leaves that you can find. They should be of excellent quality and perhaps you have that growing in your own garden. Many would suggest that the youngest leaves are better compared to older, larger ones. We like to fall somewhere in the middle and choose mid-sized leaves, especially when making our pesto in small amounts.
The second secret it to you only the best quality extra virgin olive oil that you can find. The olive oil portion of the recipe for pesto is quite large, so it’s best not to try and skimp. Lesser quality olive oil will not give you the real experience of true pesto sauce.
Of course, true Pesto alla Genovese requires basil grown and oil produced in Genoa. The best we can do is to get as close to the original recipe as possible.
Basil pesto without garlic – enough to dress 500 g of pasta
- 40 g of fresh small-leaf basil leaves
- 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 and a half tablespoons of grated pecorino romano
- 1 tablespoon of pine nuts, lightly toasted
NB .: For the preparation it is preferable to use the stone mortar, if you do not have it, the classic food processor or a mini-cutter will suffice.
- Start chopping the basil leaves, pounding them very patiently. As soon as they are roughly chopped (not blended), add the pine nuts. Continue to grind until you get a pulp. Then add the cheeses and 1 tablespoon of oil, continuing to mix.
- Finally add the rest of the oil slowly, pounding or chopping again, until a fairly uniform product is obtained. The small pieces of basil and pine nuts must be distinguished, it must not be a velvety and homogeneous cream.
- The basil pesto without garlic is great just did. If left over, it can be stored in the fridge (I recommend no later than the day after preparation) in a glass or ceramic container. cover the top of the pesto well with extra oil.
