Friday, September 29, 2023

Making Pesto

 I have never made pesto, never, not ever and unfortunately it did not go as planned...
I followed this recipe, which I found to be delightful.
It is a great recipe,
with some suggestions for substitutions and the reasons you may want to substitute one item for another.
Those suggestions were included with the recipe.

My Basil looked beautiful...

I washed it good and laid it on a towel to dry.
I think this is probably going to be my last crop, depending on outdoor temperatures.

I used walnuts,
 I think you have to be insanely rich to use pine nuts,
although they are delicious and I used freshly grated parmesan cheese,
not romano cheese.

I do not own a food processor so I used my blender.
I drizzled olive oil slowly into the blender.

It finished up this dark green color...this is straight from the blender,
it was not smooth and creamy.
I thought maybe the blender was a little too rough on the basil,
or perhaps it was the type of basil I used.

We each had one bowl over pasta.
I topped it with freshly grated parmesan cheese amd a few pieces of walnuts.
It tasted ok, we ate it, but it was not "delicious" like I was hoping.
Any thoughts or suggestions from those who have made pesto?

12 comments:

Leanne Coppola said...

I have to be honest, I'm a fan of buying it in the store! I have a feeling a food processor might work better.

Sandi said...

I feel like some lemon juice would preserve the green color and give it a kick.

Rian said...

Debbie, I've never made pesto, but a friend of my daughter's used to and she'd give us little bottles of it. It was really good. I do use Basil a lot - especially like it fresh on sandwiches, etc.

♥ Łucja-Maria ♥ said...

Dear Debbie!
I have the same basil in my garden. I love basil pesto alla genovese. I always make it in a blender. Additionally, I add two cloves of garlic, one teaspoon of lemon juice and salt. It always comes out green and delicious.
Have a nice weekend:)

Karen @ Beatrice Euphemie said...

Aw! Too bad it didn't turn out. I've never made it, but always wanted to try. Some good tips from your readers! Maybe you can use the rest in some tomato sauce. A lot of beautiful basil that would be a shame to waste. x K

Ray Brothers Packers & Movers said...

I never tried pesto!

eileeninmd said...

Hello,
I have never tried pesto, your pasta meal does look yummy.
Have a great weekend.

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

Pesto without pinenuts, even at a price that is nuts, is the way to go. Sad but true. I think walnuts have too dry a flavor after taste. Maybe cashews or almonds would be better.

Looks delicious though

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

Sorry, that should be with pinenuts, not without

Conniecrafter said...

I have never made pesto before, when I got my teeth cleaned a couple weeks ago the hygienist was telling me a meal she threw together with it and it sounded interesting at the time but do you think I can remember it now, UGGGhhh!

Lowcarb team member said...

Shame about your pesto ...
There are some tips on this article here that you may find helpful
https://thecookful.com/tips-for-pesto/

All the best Jan

DeniseinVA said...

I've never made pesto Debbie. Yours looks delicious. Sounds like people have been giving you some good tips. I'm going to read them too.