This year’s hunt for the “Wild Pesto” came up with a sure fire tongue zapper... best variant in years and had us licking the pesto bowl with gusto as if we were having at the last dibs of a chocolate mousse...
So, here is what you need....
30 or so fresh basel leaves
4 spearmint leaves
1 cup top quality olive oil (virgin pressed)
8 Tablepoons of fresh lemon juice
9 cloves of coarsely chopped garlic
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon fresh pepper, coarsely ground
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup “smashed” hazelnuts
Our trusty Braun Hand Mixer is my preferred tool for this operation...
For blending start with 3/4s of the oil, most of the garlic, half of the basel leaves, all the mint, and the salt and pepper... slowly blend for three minutes, adding in gradually half of the lemon juice, generous portions of the cheese and nuts.
Keep adding gradually the remaining ingredients and continue blending for at least another 3 minutes.
Check for consistency - what you want to have is a pesto with a consistency this side short of porridge. If too thick, add some water and blend... or, if too thin: blend in more cheese and nuts.
Check for taste... too lemony, add more basel and olive oil. And - naturally - add more salt and pepper to your own taste.
Afterwards, cover the pesto (the Braun has a lid for its container) and set for a minimum of 30 minutes in the frig. The Pesto will thicken a bit in the frig and a few tablespoons of water may be needed for thinning.
And the Pasta?
Lately, my leaning has been to Conchiglie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conchiglie
Tips: been using a Braun Hand Mixer for years - a current model from Braun is the MR430HC... this should easily do the job. For “smashing Hazelnuts” - get the kids involved! Double bag the nuts and have them pound away with a small mallet...