Try making this pesto using a mortar and pestle. There are many dishes that people swear taste better when cooked by hand, but pesto is the easiest to demonstrate. The taste intensity is unmatched, and as if by magic, this exquisite spread takes on an addictive spiciness. Each component is discernible, but when they are combined, new and amazing flavors are revealed.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 20 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large bunch fresh basil
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- 2 ounces finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- ½ cup mild extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Crush garlic and pinch of kosher salt in a mortar with the pestle until garlic is mashed and paste-like, 1 or 2 minutes. Add basil in 3 or 4 additions, crushing and pounding down the leaves until they form a fairly fine paste, about 8 minutes or more depending on size of leaves and thickness of stems. Add and pound in pine nuts.
- Transfer a handful of grated cheese to mortar and pound into the sauce. Add another handful of cheese and incorporate into the mixture. Continue adding cheese a handful at a time until completely incorporated, about 5 minutes.
- Drizzle in olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time, pounding it into the sauce. When all the olive oil has been added and emulsified into the mixture, transfer pesto to a bowl and drizzle the surface with olive oil.
- The bunch of basil should weigh about 4 or 5 ounces.
- Use a microplane to finely grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Two ounces should yield about 1 1/2 cups unpacked grated cheese.
- Of course, you can play around with the ratios of the five ingredients, and easily adjust this to your tastes, but no matter how they’re combined, taking the time to crush them by hand is well worth the effort.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 181 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 2 g |
| Cholesterol | 6 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 169 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made with half the amount of cheese because that’s all I had. My food processor broke and I do not have a mortar and pestle, but my freshly harvested basil and garlic deserved this. Solution: a small well seasoned cast iron skillet and the flat side of a meat mallet. It’s a lot of work but Holy Smokes! Hot and spicy from the garlic and so good! Thank you Chef John!
Sooo much better than pesto made in a food processor. I recently watched an episode of Salt Fat Acid Heat where they were in Italy and made pesto with a mortar and pestle. I knew I had to try it and this was the recipe that I happened upon. I will say that I probably should have used less garlic as it was heavy on that end. It was garlic that I grew and the cloves were probably twice as big as a store-bought clove. Otherwise, perfection!
Whew! Today I learned that I am one of those folks who can’t handle the truth because this was a bit too spicy and strong for me. I read that adding a bit of water can help tame a strong a pesto and that worked perfectly for me. I actually think that I added too much garlic to begin with which may have contributed to the strength of my pesto but I will definitely make it again as it really is delicious. Thanks Chef John!
Perfect as is… Same recipe my wife has been making for years, although with the cost of pine nuts getting exorbitant she now uses pistachios. But please people, please…no parsley, no kale, no substitute greenery if you want to make delicious traditional pesto…. ,it may be green and creamy … But it ain’t the real thing.
Chef John will you marry me? This pesto is simply delicious! What a keeper.
Dry your basil, after washing. Otherwise it doesn’t crush right, and slip-slides around the mortar. Argh, ran out of pine-nuts, so used pecans. Took a bit to crush fully, but still delicious! 5 cloves was perfect, not too harsh.
Perfect pesto, though I did add extra cheese since I over grated, otherwise stayed true to the recipe. Can’t wait to use it on a toasted tomato and mozzarella sandwich. Starbux ain’t got nothin on this tommy-mozz.
Mille grazie!! Finally pesto alla genovese that tastes like my mother made it. I have my grandmother’s mortar (marble) and my mother’s pestle (wooden) and I’ve tried many times to make pesto using them, but I have always failed. Your video inspired me and guided me to my first success!! And IT TASTES LIKE MY MOTHER MADE IT!. Completely different from Cuisinart pesto. There is a fragrance I cannot describe. I did one thing different, though. I used romano pecorino — but not the cheese you get in most stores. Here in Seattle we have a store that sells romano pecorino from Italy, and it is a wonderful cheese. Mild but fragrant and flavorful. Though pecorino is what my mother used (and I love it), I will get some good parmigiano reggiano and try that, too. thanks again!!! BTW half my grandparents came from Liguria, the other half from Piedmont. The correct Ligurian pronunciation of pesto is pestu. In both Liguria and Piedmont there is frequently a sound shift where the “oh” sound becomes “oo”.
Best pesto ever. Well worth the time needed to gradually grind each ingredient into the mixture. I used the entire batch with farfalle pasta and diced avocado.
Bought one in the store but didn’t care for it. I had tons of basil this summer, too much for my Asian cooking and wanted to try this. Oh my God, it’s phenomenal. Eat it with my grilled salmon and it beats my asian hot sauce…..
Now that is pesto! Wow the flavor is right on, strong and pungent . I made it as instructed , didn’t get all the basil perfectly smashed and the pine nuts as well but I love it ! Thanks chef John …again!!
Labour intestine but SO WORTH IT! Didn’t change a thing. It has a very intense flavour, which I love. I can’t buy pre-made jarred pesto ever again.
Grew my own Basil… this was most excellent! Made a gigantic batch the winter. Now I can just break a hunk off and make green rice or add it to pasta noodles. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Excellent with chicken. Pre make it and freeze.
Really reliable recipe. I use basil as the herb since I have a ton of it in the garden. Tip: if you want that incredibly bright green color, you have to use it right away. It actually does not keep the color although the flavor remains for up to 3 days (turns more brown).
Excellent. I Had to make mine with the food processor as I couldn’t find my mortar and pestle. I made the recipe exactly otherwise and it was excellent
Excellent! Crushing makes a big difference. I’m a big garlic fan so I used 5 cloves. I let it rest for 2 hours in the refrigerator after making also. Thanks, John, I use a lot of your recipes!
This is a delicious pesto recipe. I didn’t have any pinenuts so I substituted walnuts and it turned out wonderful!
need at least 2 cups of basil. I used 2 small cloves of garlic and only 1oz. of cheese
Love this recipe,Quick and easy to make. My go to pesto
I have made this recipe a number of times and love it. Since I grow Genovese basil in my basement, I always have a lot of fresh basil available, and usually double or quadruple the recipe. Since I make large quantities, I make this pesto in my 16 cup food processor. To do this, I put the pine nuts, salt, and garlic cloves in the processor, pulse 4-5 times, add add the shredded cheese, pulse a couple more times, add 1/2 the oil, pulse a couple more times, add 1/2 the basil leaves and the rest of the oil, pulse a couple more time, add the rest of the basil, and pulse 3-4 times until everything is integrated. By weight, a large bunch of basil is 1.4 ounces for just leaves and 2.5 ounces for leaves and stems. I have been using just the leaves. Making the pesto with this method is so very good, I don’t see how crushing everything manually could make it any better. I use this pesto mixed in pasta and have also used a lot of it in recipes. We love it, so I keep a stock of it in my freezer. It freezes very well.