INGREDIENTS:
1⁄3 cup pine nuts or walnuts, lightly toasted
2 cups rough chopped young green garlic, including all of their green tops
1⁄3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1⁄3 cup olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and adjust as desired.
Will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 6+ months.
Yield: Approximately 1 cup
Pro tips for making a creamy pesto sauce
- If you use 1⁄3 less water than you are accustomed to when you boil your pasta, the resulting water will be starchier, thereby contributing to a richer pesto sauce.
- Cook pasta according to directions (except for the water bit!).
- Just before draining pasta, save a cup of the starchy pasta water.
- Drain pasta, then immediately return it to the pot (off the burner). Add 1⁄3 cup of pesto per 2 servings. Stir in pesto, then add pasta water, one tablespoon at a time, and stir it in until integrated with pesto and pasta. Keep adding water and stirring until you have a saucy sauce that coats the pasta. The finished sauce should not be too thick or too watery. Don’t expect to use all of the water.
