Pesto recipes?

At the age of 61, and a long time cook , and full-blooded Italian, I am about to make my first pesto. 

However, I've found a lot of variations in the recipes. Different cheeses. Different oil ratios.

I'm confused. I want to start with a basic classic recipe, if one exists.

I'm leaning towards Marcella Hazan's recipe. Any other suggestions?

Looks like a very good recipe.  I grew up with pesto without pine nuts, but I like it both ways now.  You may want to tweak it to your tastes after the first time--ie, more garlic, more Locatelli Romano.  It's all a matter of taste.  Also, because I really like it intense, I usually don't dilute it with the pasta water, unless I'm having trouble mixing it into the pasta.  Enjoy!

thanks. Yeah, I figure if I continue to make it, it will evolve. I just wanted a good starting point. I was surprised that this recipe only has 2 cloves of garlic.

I grew up without pesto. I guess it wasn't a thing where my parents are from. (I'm first gen) Mom was a great cook, but she never made it. I never even heard about it until it became a thing a few decades ago.

My aunt and grandmother would make it every summer and it was a real treat.  They would make a huge batch for our 4 families and this was before there were food processors--all of the basil was chopped by hand.  I agree that 2 cloves of garlic sounds skimpy.  If you're like me, 4 might be more like it.  Taste as you go along if you dare, but there may not be any left for the pasta.

I made it as per the recipe. Delicious!

Yeah, as I watched this whirl in the processor, I wondered how they did it in days of yore.

db -- what type of basil did you use and where did you get it?  I want to make some with thai basil i grew in the garden this year.

Congrats on your success!

Have made it many times and have never seen a recipe that called for butter - I always use a good quality olive oil.

Try adding a little lemon juice, helps color and it's like a magnifying glass for your taste buds. Also, I like to taste basil, cheese and garlic.  Try using regular olive oil instead of evoo.  

Olive oil, no butter, a bit of chicken broth if you have it.

I add the oil as it is processed -- I do it by feel.

Also, if you have a lot of basil, make the recipe without the nuts and cheese.  Freeze it in ice cube trays.  Each cube is +/- 2 tablespoons, and if well wrapped they keep all winter.  Add one or two to soups and sauces, or defrost six and add nuts and cheese for a taste of summer in the middle of winter!

I've been making it for as long as I've been cooking and have experimented a lot. Ultimately I keep it simple to start—basil. Olive oil, garlic, S&p.

I stopped adding cheese because i don't always want cheese. I also prefer walnuts or cashews over pine nuts. 

Butter/ never in the sauce but occasionally I'll add after.

I've also experimented with blanching the basil first to retain color, lightly sautéing the garlic so it's less strong (I like it strong), 

The first recipe I used 25 or so years ago called for parsley as well as basil. I've seen other variations and have even used arugula (can get bitter), spinach, kale. Etc. it's a great way to use up greens. 

I skipped the butter myself.

angelak - Kings in Livingston had these huge hydroponic basil plants for 3.99, so I bought one of those. A bit pricey but it was very bushy and was in excellent condition. I had tried to buy some from the farmer's market on route 10 but they were out. And Livingston ShopRite, my regular store, only had these pretty anemic looking hydroponic plants.

The two cups needed for the pesto still leaves me with about another two cups on the plant. Biggest hydroponic plant I've ever seen in a supermarket

Mountainchef said:
Try adding a little lemon juice, helps color and it's like a magnifying glass for your taste buds. Also, I like to taste basil, cheese and garlic.  Try using regular olive oil instead of evoo.  

 yes. good point about the lemon. a little acid is almost always appropriate.

I couldn't find any pine nuts lately, so I used slivered blanched almonds.  I only put in the almonds, basil leaves, olive oil and 3 or 4 garlic cloves.  I do it this way every year and freeze about a tablespoon in small covered plastic containers.  More olive oil, as well as cheese and salt, if desired, can be added when you eat the pesto. We grow the basil from seed,and this year has been a bumper crop.

Or if you want to go for Pesto alla Siciliana, as Sicily is where my grandpa came from, add tomato. I often toss in sun dried tomatoes and crushed red pepper. (and I veganize it using vegan grated cheese.)

And if you want to go with the pre Cuisinart era

https://petersfoodadventures.com/2016/05/10/easy-pesto-using-mortar-pestle/

Is there a store where I can get a small piece of parmiggiano?  The smallest that SR has is 1/2 pound, and  frequently I don't get a chance to use it all before it starts to get a bit old and dried out. A 1/4 lb piece would be good for me.

Whole Foods?

Ashley's on SO Ave.?  

yeah, those were the two that came to mind also. I'll give them a shot.

hmm, I wonder if that Italian store in Florham Park has it.

yuck, bought some Costco Pesto the other day. It's horrible. Salty and way too heavy on the cheese. The taste of basil is non-existent. I assume there's garlic in it, but I wouldn't swear to it.

yuck.

I even tried to improve it by adding fresh basil to it. No go. The underlying crappiness overwhelmed my attempts. Sorry I wasted you, my precious basil.

Disappointing, as I usually like Kirkland products.

I realize the goal is making your own, but I got some excellent pesto at the Wine Library. Incredibly fresh tasting.

kthnry said:
I realize the goal is making your own, but I got some excellent pesto at the Wine Library. Incredibly fresh tasting.

 Wine Library is the one on Morris Ave, right?

drummerboy said:

kthnry said:
I realize the goal is making your own, but I got some excellent pesto at the Wine Library. Incredibly fresh tasting.

 Wine Library is the one on Morris Ave, right?

 Yes, at Millburn Ave. 

If you’re still looking for the cheese, let me know as I may be on SI this week and can get whatever size cut to order.  

And Hazan is, well, Hazan.  She’s the go to with at least the basics before tweaking IMO.  My grandmother substituted Locatelli because, well, that’s what we always had in the house 24/7.  Butter wasn’t used, and since it’s clearly the final step for her not really an intrinsic component— lightly buttering the pasta would achieve the same effect, but I prefer a good quality olive oil in a very light toss. 

Marcella's is pretty good, though the butter is kind of unnecessary. 

But you'll get a much nicer (smoother) result if you use a blender rather than a food processor. The food processor tends to chop the basil, where the blender will pulverize it. 

I make a cilantro/walnut pesto. It is very pungent.   DB if you’d like to try it, let me know.  I have some extra available. 

Wondering why the pesto I made came out bitter?

good question. My money would be on maybe the oil or nuts being past their prime? Or maybe the basil? I know I occasionally will taste a basil leaf and it doesn't have that nice sweet taste.