Basil pesto – Pesto al basilico – Pesto od bosiljka

I remember a sort of green condiment for pasta that my mother’s friend once brought to us from Italy as a very precious gift for us. She recommended how to use it and she was sure that we would like it as much as she did, but when we tasted it for the first time I was so disappointed, I didn’t liked it at all. My mother couldn’t convince me that it was tasty and she wanted to make me believe that she like it sooo much! I didn’t trust her, because she is not a good liar, so we kept the remaining pesto for a long time in the refrigerator before we threw it away definitively.
I grow to like basil pesto when I moved to Italy and I’ve spent my first Italian summer in Tuscany. We often had pasta with basil pesto for lunch, it is so quick and easy to prepare. Moreover during summer months you can find plenty of fresh basil on the market, you don’t have to grow your own basil plant in vase, if you don’t have garden or balcony. What is the secret to fall in love with basil pesto? Well, to do it homemade and fist enjoy the flavour and perfume the basil emits while you mash it, second you enjoy its beautiful taste!
After so many years, now I know the reason why we didn’t liked it the first time we ate it. It was not freshly prepared, but the one from the supermarket. Maybe it was the best one you can buy, but nothing can be compared with the basil pesto you prepare in your kitchen. Something was missing in the recipe we’ve got from our friend: potatoes and a squirt of quality olive oil. Our first pasta with basil pesto was not awful, it was edible, but the one we eat nowadays is divine.

BASIL PESTO

200 gr leafs of fresh basil*

1 small slice of garlic**

pinch of salt

2 almonds with peel

1 teaspoon of pine nuts

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

*I blanch basil leafs for few minutes, because when I use fresh leafs my pasta turn slightly coloured (grey), so I started to blanch the leafs

**I add ¼ of medium garlic slice

***I don’t add parmesan cheese in my pesto

Wash basil leafs and blench your basil in slightly salted water. Squeeze the liquid from leafs and let it cool down. Put all ingredients in the blender and blend all together until you get the uniform cream. If needed add few more tablespoons of oil.

Store it in a glass jar (in refrigerator) with some olive oil on top.

The quantity you will get will be enough for 6 dishes of pasta.

La ricetta in italiano
PESTO AL BASILICO

200 gr foglie di basilico*

1 piccolo spicchio d’aglio**

un pizzico di sale

2 mandorle con la pelle

1 cucchiaino di pinoli

3 cucchiai di olio extravergine d’oliva

*Io sbollento le foglie di basilico per qualche minute, perché quando lo uso fresco mi colora leggermente la pasta, cosi ho deciso di sbollentarlo

**Io aggiungo ¼ di uno spicchio medio

***Io non aggiungo il parmigiano al pesto

Lavare le foglie di basilica e sbollentarle nell’acqua leggermente salata. Strizzarle bene e raffreddarle. Mettere tutti gli ingredienti nel frullatore e frullare fino ad ottenere una purea omogenea. Se serve aggiungere altro olio.

Conservare nel vasetto di vetro (nel frigorifero) coperto di uno strato di olio in cima.

Questa quantità basterà per 6 piatti di pasta.

Recept na Hrvatskom 
PESTO OD BOSILJKA

200 gr listova bosiljka*

1 mali česan češnjaka**

prstohvat soli

2 badema s kožicom

1 žličica pinjola

3 žlice extradjevičanskog maslinovog ulja

*Ja blanširam listove bosiljka par minuta, jer mi svježi bosiljak lagano oboji paštu.

**Ja dodam ¼ česne češnjaka srednje veličine

***Ja ne dodajem parmezan u pesto

Oprati listove bosiljka i blanširati ih par minuta u lagano slanoj vodi. Ižmikati tekućinu iz listova i ohladiti ih. Sve sastojke miksati dok se ne dobije homogena krema. Ako treba dodati još ulja.

Čuvati u staklenci (u hladnjaku), a površinu pesta preliti uljem.

Ova količina je dovoljna za 6 porcija pašte.