How to make Pesto
Napolina's pesto recipe is simple to make and is packed full of flavour for the perfect pasta accompaniment. Combining basil leaves with pine nuts and extra virgin olive oil delivers a classic and fragrant sauce to enhance any dish.
Ingredients
Makes 180g
65ml Napolina Extra virgin olive oil
75g basil leaves, chopped
50g pine nuts
40g parmesan, grated
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 lemon
Coarse Salt and Black Pepper
Method
On a low heat, toast the pine nuts gently for 2-3 minutes until golden.
Add the garlic, basil leaves, salt and pepper into a mortar and grind with a pestle. (If available, this can also be done in a food processor.)
When the basil leaves are broken down, add the toasted pine nuts and continue to grind.
Add the grated Parmesan cheese and mix well.
Slowly add the extra virgin olive oil whilst continuing to grind until you create a thick but smooth consistency.
Squeeze in the juice from the lemon and stir.
Serve with freshly cooked Napolina Pasta.
Once you have made our pesto, why not create our Pesto Chicken recipe or our delightful Salmon with pesto for a simple and tasty midweek meal.
What is Pesto? Our pesto recipe combines basil leaves, pine nuts, parmesan and extra virgin olive oil which can be used to add flavour and vibrancy to any dish or simply for the perfect pesto pasta recipe.
Is Pesto Vegetarian? Pesto is an extremely versatile sauce and can be amended to be vegetarian by simply swapping Parmesan cheese for vegetarian hard cheese.
