Everyday Italian (11 page)
Authors: Giada De Laurentiis
PESTOS
Pesto is traditionally a green sauce made with pounded basil and pine nuts, but these days any uncooked sauce that’s easy, quick, and puréed can be called a pesto—in fact, that’s the point of it: a no-cook sauce. Pestos are not only perfect over pasta, but they’re also great condiments for meats and fish, or simply spread on toasted bread as an appetizer. Fresh pesto will last three to four days in the refrigerator, stored airtight. And if you’re going to be making a lot of pestos, it’s likely that you’re going to be using a lot of pine nuts. Store them in the freezer. Nuts can go rancid very quickly, and you don’t want your expensive pine nuts turning to garbage within a matter of days. If you store them in the freezer, you can buy in bulk, save money, and always have them on hand. To toast nuts for pesto, bake them on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees F for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Be sure to keep an eye on them so that they don’t burn!
The most basic, most traditional pesto is this basil-based one that was invented in Genoa, in northern Italy; it’s bright green and wonderfully aromatic. Be sure to add your oil slowly, so that the sauce fully emulsifies—that is, all the ingredients bind together, creating a thick, uniform consistency. Lots of basil varieties are available, some sweeter, some spicier, and in fact basil is an important ingredient in the cooking of southeast Asia, especially in curries. Each variety will impart its unique flavor to a pesto, so be adventurous, and try whatever type appeals to you. Just remember: You need a lot of it, and it should be fresh and crisp, not wilted or soggy.
MAKES 1 CUP; SERVES 4 OVER 12 OUNCES OF PASTA AS A MAIN COURSE
| 2 | cups (packed) fresh basil leaves |
| ¼ | cup toasted pine nuts |
| 1 | garlic clove |
| ½ | teaspoon salt, plus more to taste |
| ¼ | teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste About ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil |
| ½ | cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese |
In a Blender,
pulse the basil, pine nuts, garlic, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper until finely chopped. With the blender still running, gradually add enough oil to form a smooth and thick consistency. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl and stir in the cheese. Season the pesto with more salt and pepper to taste. (The pesto can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
The secret to
making pesto into a great pasta dressing is to get the sauce to the right consistency. Fresh from the food processor, pestos are usually too thick to coat pastas; you’ll just end up with mounds of the sauce amid a lot of undressed noodles. You need to mix in just enough of the pasta cooking liquid to get the pesto to coat the pasta, but not so much that you’ve created pesto soup.
In winter, when fresh tomatoes aren’t at their peak of ripeness and flavor, this is a great way to get your tomato fix. Sun-dried tomatoes are a wonder ingredient: They offer the rich, sweet flavors of fresh tomatoes, but they’re available year-round, they have a long pantry life, they don’t take up much room, and they pack a lot of flavor into a small punch. This pesto is a great topping for sautéed or grilled fish, and it’s also wonderful for a picnic because it can be eaten cold or hot. Also perfect over penne.
MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS; SERVES 4 OVER 12 OUNCES OF PASTA AS A MAIN COURSE
| 1 | (8.5-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil |
| 1 | cup (packed) fresh basil leaves |
| 2 | garlic cloves |
| ½ | cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese |
| ½ | teaspoon salt, plus more to taste |
| ½ | teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste |
In the Bowl
of a food processor, blend the sun-dried tomatoes and their oil with the basil and garlic just until the tomatoes are finely chopped. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl, and stir in the cheese and ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Season the pesto with more salt and pepper to taste. (This pesto will last for 1 week if stored in an airtight container.)
For this dish,
I like to use sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil because the oil has had time to marinate with the tomatoes, thus adding a heightened flavor to this pesto. If you can’t find the oil-packed ones, then soak dry sun-dried tomatoes in extra-virgin olive oil for 12 hours.
In the past few years, Americans have been treated to a dazzling array of new convenience food; the supermarket aisles are lined with items you can eat
right now!
I’m not a big fan of most of these. But I
am
a big fan of pre-washed, pretrimmed greens, like the bags of baby spinach that are almost universally available. Cleaning fresh spinach is no treat: The bunches are filled with sand and grit, requiring multiple changes of water to remove; and it’s time-consuming to separate the fibrous stalks from the tender leaves. But these bags of baby spinach, on the other hand, are ready to go: Tear open the bag, dump the greens into a salad bowl, and they’re ready to dress. Or just toss into the sauté pan with a little olive oil and garlic, and you can be eating bright, fresh spinach in mere seconds. Or throw into the blender with some other ingredients—and bingo! Pesto!
MAKES 1 CUP; SERVES 4 OVER 12 OUNCES OF PASTA AS A MAIN COURSE
| 2 | cup (tightly packed) baby spinach leaves (about 2 ounces) |
| ¼ | cup toasted pine nuts |
| 1 | to 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (from about 1 lemon) |
| 2 | tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about ½ lemon) |
| ⅓ | cup olive oil |
| ⅓ | cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese |
| ½ | teaspoon salt, plus more to taste |
| ½ | teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste |
In the Bowl
of a food processor, combine the spinach, pine nuts, lemon zest, and lemon juice. With the machine running, gradually add the oil, blending until the mixture is creamy. Transfer the pesto to a medium bowl. Stir in the Parmesan and ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Season the pesto with more salt and pepper to taste. (The pesto can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
This is great with grilled chicken.
In my family, pesto was always a green sauce. But like many people, I’ve stretched the definition of pesto and expanded its horizons. (That’s what makes cooking so much fun.) This recipe uses a combination of dried and fresh mushrooms, both of which bring their own pronounced textures and flavors to the dish. Dried porcinis are easy to find year-round. And although they’re not cheap, they’re a great pantry item that you can use to jazz up a pasta dish, make a sauce to accompany a meat dish, or, of course, use as the base of this pesto.
MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS; SERVES 4 OVER 12 OUNCES OF PASTA AS A MAIN COURSE
| 1 | ounce dried porcini mushrooms |
| 8 | ounces white button mushrooms, quartered |
| 1½ | cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves |
| ½ | cup toasted walnuts |
| 2 | garlic cloves |
| ½ | cup olive oil |
| ½ | cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese |
| ½ | teaspoon salt, plus more to taste |
| ¼ | teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste |
Bring a Small Saucepan
of water to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the porcini mushrooms, and press to submerge. Let stand until the mushrooms are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the soaking liquid from the mushrooms and discard.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the porcini mushrooms, button mushrooms, parsley, toasted walnuts, and garlic. With the machine running, gradually add the oil, blending just until the mushrooms are finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Season the pesto with more salt and pepper to taste. (The pesto can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Any good pesto is a great topping for toasted bread—also called crostini—but I’m especially partial to the mushroom version, which is mellower than the more herb-focused varieties.
MAKES 36 CROSTINI; 12 HORS D’OEUVRES SERVINGS
| 36 | slices of baguette bread (each slice ½ inch thick) |
| ¼ | cup olive oil |
| 1½ | cups Mushroom Pesto |
Preheat the Oven
to 375 degrees F. Arrange the bread slices on two heavy, large baking sheets. Brush the slices with the oil, and bake until the crostini are pale golden and crisp, about 15 minutes. Spoon the mushroom pesto over the crostini and serve immediately.
A spicy sauce that’s perfect tossed with pasta. Be sure to wash your arugula thoroughly, in at least two changes of cold water, to remove any soil and grit, which you definitely don’t want in your pesto.
MAKES 1 CUP; SERVES 4 OVER 12 OUNCES OF PASTA AS A MAIN COURSE
| 2 | cups (packed) fresh arugula |
| 1 | garlic clove |
| ½ | cup olive oil |
| ½ | cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese |
| ½ | teaspoon salt, plus more to taste |
| ¼ | teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste |
In The Bowl
of a food processor, blend the arugula and garlic until finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add the oil, processing until well blended. Transfer the pesto to a large bowl, and stir in the Parmesan cheese, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Season the pesto with more salt and pepper to taste. (The pesto can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
