Pesto Orzo

It's been a while since my last post... I haven't stopped cooking - I just didn't have any free time to blog about it! Now that my last paper has been handed in, I'll have plenty more time to post!

When I was in Italy last summer I ate a lot (and I mean, a lot!) of pesto, and I've been searching for a good recipe ever since. I tried one that I found via Google, and it just wasn't authentic enough. After complaining to my fellow food/linguistics nerd, Elijah, he sent me this one, from the show The Main with host chef Anthony Sedlak. It was perfect!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of orzo pasta

3 large garlic cloves

3 cups of loosely packed fresh basil leaves (You cannot make pesto with dried basil.)

1/2 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup of Parmigiana-Reggiano, grated

2/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook the orzo in a salted boiling water, according to the package directions. Rinse and drain.
2. Blend the garlic in a food processor until finely diced.
3. Add the basil, pine nuts, cheese, salt and pepper, and blend until finely chopped.
4. Add the olive oil bit by bit, blending until incorporated.
5. Toss with pasta and serve.

Like I said, this recipe was perfect and as delicious as "the real stuff" I ate in Italy last summer. I did have to make a few alterations to the recipe though:

• I couldn't find pine nuts anywhere! So I used walnuts and it tasted just as delicious.
• I used Grana Padrano cheese. It has the same taste as parm, but is a little cheaper.
• I also couldn't find orzo, so I used gemelli instead. Same diff!

Even with all those changes, it was still delicious! I will definitely be making this again!