Homemade basil pesto recipe
Very quick & easy to make
If you are pushed for time – and want a very quick & easy meal then homemade basil pesto will be ideal.
3 Key ingredients
But there are 3 ingredients that will make all the difference:
- Basil type – Genovese, Holy, Cinnamon, etc.
- Garlic used – Hard or Soft
- Cheese type
(More details lower down the page)
Homemade basil pesto is great when added to any type of pasta or on top of bread. For example even if you only combine it with fusilli and a bit of garlic bread you will have a great meal everyone will love.
History on a plate
Pesto, or similary pastes, have a very long history and been eating throughout historical times. Possibly because lots of people like a ‘quick & easy’ meal.
However the idea of using basil is probably only from about 1850 or so when it became a common herb in Italy & France. When researching it I was focussing on the different types of garlic & basil – and how they affect the flavour.
But even items like the type of olive oil or cheese you use will affect the flavour. For example I came across an article by Rosario Scarpato mentioning that initially it used to be made with Dutch cheese. I’ve only ever made homemade pesto with Parmisan cheese, but maybe grated Gouda cheese might be an idea sometime.
Pesto Pasta with little hot dogs?
Yes, you can use pesto on a topping on bread, as a dip, etc. But I’ve always used it blended with pasta. Simply cook the pasta, mix it in and your meal is ready.
However, you don’t have to stop there.
For example in one of my favourite tv series (The Big Bang theory) Sheldon Cooper’s favourite meal is spaghetti with cut up little hot dogs. And yes spaghetti is great but why not try pesto pasta with little hot dogs (or even chopped up Frankfurters)?
Making pesto is quick & easy, but the difficulty is that it will only last about 1 week when kept chilled.
I’ve not tried freezing homemade pesto yet as it’s so easy to make.
How to make homemade basil pesto
You will need the following
Ingredients
- 1 cup Fresh Genovese basil leaves.
- 2 cloves Garlic.
- 50 gram Pine nuts
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese Grated
- 1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil
Equipment
- Food processor or
- Pestle and mortar
- Chef’s knife
I like using a food processor as it’s quick & easy. Alhough a pestle and mortar is the authentic way to make it.
Instructions
- Grate the Parmesan cheese and chop the basil leaves & garlic
- Optionally – slightly cook the pine nuts in a frying pan until golden – but it’s not essential
- Put the basil, garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan into the bowl of the food processor
- Slowly add the olive oil – about 1 spoon at a time until your pesto gets a nice thick liquid consistency
- Add salt & pepper to taste.
Video
The video below provides advice on how to make homemade pesto (I will be adding my own video at some stage) The key item to mention is that the chef uses a pestle and mortar – works well but a food processor will make it slighly smoother.
Couple of important ingredient notes
Genovese basil is the authentic Italian basil – but it’s well worth experimenting with other basil types for different flavours. In addition if you use shop garlic you might need 2 to 3 cloves. If you use a homegrown garlic (like Purple Stripe) you might only need 0.5 to 1 cloves
3 ideal homemade pesto flavour tips
As you can see from above homemade pesto is quick & easy to make.
But if you want to experiment a bit why not try a few different ingredients:
Tip 1 – Change the Basil
Most people will tend to use the basil bought in shops, or grown at home.
Basil is great to grow at home, as it’s very easy to grow and is ready very quickly. But there are lots of different types you can use.
For example:
- Genovese Basil – is the one most often used
- Holy Basil – (sometimes know as hot basil) will be a more peppery
- Lemon Basil – will add a lovely lemon flavour
- Thai Basil – will give it a unique liquorice and anise flavour (I like liquirice but not to everyone’s taste)
- Cinnamon Basil – will give it a very spicy flavour – well worth trying.
All of these are easy to grow – follow the links for details
Tip 2 – Try different Garlic types
Did you know there are over 600 different garlic types? Each with their own distinct texture and flavour.
If you look at some of the different homemade pesto recipes, you might notice the different amount of garlic recommended. Yes, personal taste makes a difference but in addition some garlics are simply much more powerful and you will need less.
For more details have a look at the garlic type information page
Tip 3 – Change the cheese
The one cheese everyone always recommends is Parmigiano Reggiano – which does give it a lovely ‘authentic’ flavour. But there is no reason you can’t experiment with different types of cheese – after all Gouda cheese was used in the 1800s in Italy as a pesto ingredient
Homemade basil pesto recipe
Equipment
- Food processor or
- Pestle and mortar
- Chef's knife
Ingredients
- 1 cup Fresh Genoves basil leaves That is the authentic Italian basil – but it[s well worth experimenting with other basil types for different flavours
- 2 cloves Garlic If you use shop garlic you might need 2 to 3 cloves. If you use a homegrown garlic (like Purple Stripe) you might only need 0.5 to 1 cloves
- 50 gram Pine nuts
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese Grated
- 1/3 cup Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Get all the ingredients ready
- Grate the Parmesan cheese
- Pound the Garlic
- Add and crush (or add chopped) basil
- Add the pine nuts
- Add the Parmisan cheese
- Add olive oil (1 table spoon at a time)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
More information
Hopefully the homemade pesto recipe might inspire you to grow your own fresh tomatoes at home.
To grow your own basil
Basil is very easy to grow your own at home in your kitchen, dining room, etc. For the best & fastest results all you will need are seeds, growing system and some growing lights. There is detailed description of the – indoor herb garden system