HOW TO MAKE PESTO THE OLD FASHION WAY WITH A MORTAR AND PESTLE

-

Talk about a labor of love, well this sure was.  I hurt my shoulder a while back and since I have had issues with my hand on my right side becoming numb.  I have to admit I have made it with a food processor many times but I can tell a difference in using the mortar and pestle.


 I always have an herb garden each year and have tons of basil.  Not only do I make pesto, but I will also flavor oils with basil, I love to have dried basil from my own garden, and our rabbits love the basil.  
For this recipe, I chose to use pine nuts.  I toasted them in a #3 cast iron skillet just until they got a bit of color.
I prefer to use fresh garlic.  Peel them and give them a rough chop.
Add the garlic and a small amount of sea salt to your mortar.
Now the fun part begins.  You get to beat the garlic and salt silly.  


You want the garlic to be like a paste.

Make sure you have cleaned your basil well.  I mean really well.  Bugs love to hide in the leaves.  Add a hand cup at a time to the mortar.  Each time pounding the basil into a paste before adding more.
 


Just pound away.  Next, add your toasted pine nuts.  AND pound some more.

You want it to look something like the picture below.


Shred some good parmesan cheese.


You need to shred it really fine so it will incorporate better.  Guess what?  You get to pound some more.


At this point, it really is up to you how fine you make everything.  I made some a few days later with my friend Lisa and we kept it a bit more chunky.


The last step is adding your oil.  I used extra virgin olive oil.


Add then mix.  


If you want more oil add more.  


Mix until it is the consistency you prefer.  


I think it makes a really pretty picture.


Once you are finished making your pesto, add it to a jar.  


Pour more oil on the top.


Add a lid and put it in the fridge.  



OLD FASHION PESTO

Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted
  • 5 to 6 ounces fresh cleaned basil
  • 3 garlic cloves 
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded finely
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
  • Extra virgin olive oil 
Directions
  • Start by washing the basil and allowing it to dry thoroughly.
  • Toast pine nuts
  • Peel garlic cloves and give them a rough chop.
  • Finely shred parmesan cheese
  • Place salt and garlic into your mortar.  Beat these 2 ingredients into a paste.
  • Add basil a small handful at a time.  Beat the basil well before adding the next handful.  Pound it all down to the consistency you prefer. 
  • Add pine nuts and pound some more.  
  • Add your cheese and pound some more.  Again making sure you pound everything down to the consistency you prefer. 
  • Start adding olive oil a few tablespoons at a time.  Again come to the consistency you prefer.
  • Add into a jar and top with more oil.  
This will keep in the fridge for several weeks.  

Pesto is one of those things that you can pretty much play with and not mess up.  You do not have to use basil.  You could use spinach, parsley, swiss chard or any combo.  Same way with the nuts, you could use walnuts instead of pine nuts.  As I mentioned, later the same week I made this with my friend Lisa and we totally mixed it up.  We used coconut oil and walnuts.  She wanted it more chunky so we did not pound or beat it into a paste.  The results were wonderful.

This is the first time I have made pesto with my pestle and mortar.  Something about doing it the old-timey way just brings out the oils in the basil making it more flavorful.  

It is Friday.  ENJOY your weekend!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COPY CAT ORTEGA TACO SAUCE

-
Image
Tacos, everyone loves tacos.  I mean why else do we have Taco Tuesdays?  Well, that is exactly what we had last night for dinner.  Tacos!!!  After fixing them I realized I was out of this wonderful sauce.  I normally keep a few jars canned in the basement but I used the last jar a few weeks back.   Needless to say, I needed to make more since I had the tacos already cooking.  I am so glad it is very easy to make.  Quick and simple.  I will admit though it is better if you let it sit a few days I did but not have the time for that last night.  After all, it was Taco Tuesday in the Cristina's household. Gather your spices together.  Measure out each into a small mixing bowl. Mix it all together. Add tomato sauce and apple cider vinegar. Mix together. Here is a secret ingredient that I add to make it taste yummy.  Lemon pepper seasoning.  It takes the level up a bit ...
Read more

TOMATO SOUP (CANNING RECIPE)

-
Image
I made this a couple of weeks back and I am finally getting around to post about it.  I always say life gets in the way and it truly does.  I stay so busy that I sometimes have a hard time finding the time to sit down and write or type a blog post.  It is not that I do not want to, it really is hard to carve out a bit of time to sit down.  Now with all that said.... We are bracing for Hurricane Florence in my neck of the woods.  Thank goodness it has been downgraded to a Cat 2 but you just never know.  I am saying all of that to say it is always good to have some stuff canned.  Oh, I know you can go to the grocery store and buy just about anything but have you given any thought to what is in that tin can you buy?  Or that frozen entree?  Think hard about what you are putting into your body.  Just last night our friend Matt stopped by and he another friend, Dusty that when he runs out of food he is coming to my house.   ...
Read more

HOW TO MAKE CRISPY PICKLED JALAPENOS

-
Image
I have struggled to find a recipe to make pickled jalapenos that were nice and crisp.  My pickled jalapenos were mushy and could only be used as a spice, like in chili or some Mexican dish.  I wanted my pickled jalapenos to have a crunchy bite to them.  I wanted to feel the crisp when I bit into it.  Being frugal I could not just toss them out so of course I still used them.   The last few years I have found a way to make sure they are crunchy and nicely crisp.  I use 2 products, Pickling lime and pickle crisp.  Yeah, I double do it but it works!! My jalapenos came at a lark this year.  Our friend Wade gave us some pepper plants that he had started from seed.  I think he felt sorry for us because we did not have a good turnout with our own seedlings.  We thought we were getting scotch bonnet peppers but it turned out we got 4 jalapeno pepper plants instead.  There is a joke behind planting seeds, do not dr...
Read more