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
- Cook the orzo in a salted boiling water, according to the package directions. Rinse and drain.
- Blend the garlic in a food processor until finely diced.
- Add the basil, pine nuts, cheese, salt and pepper, and blend until finely chopped.
- Add the olive oil bit by bit, blending until incorporated.
- 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!
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