How to make Pesto | Gennaro Contaldo | 🇮🇹 🙏❤️

pine nuts

🥗Healthier: walnuts

💰Cheaper: sunflower seeds

Walnuts provide a similar texture and flavor at a lower cost.

Parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: Grana Padano

Nutritional yeast is a dairy-free option, while Grana Padano is often less expensive.

Start with a pestle and mortar.

Add 1-2 cloves of garlic and a little salt, then crush them together.

Add a handful of pine nuts and crush them as well.

Pour in a little olive oil and continue to crush everything together.

Add basil leaves, avoiding the stalks, and mash them in.

Add more olive oil and mash until everything is combined into a paste.

Grate and add Parmesan cheese, then mix it in.

Taste the pesto with a piece of bread.

Clean the mortar and prepare for the next pesto.

For Calabrian pesto, crush garlic and add a little salt.

Add half a chili, chopped, and mix it in.

Add a little olive oil and crush everything together.

Add sun-dried tomatoes and continue to crush until creamy.

Taste the Calabrian pesto and adjust seasoning if necessary.

For walnut pesto, crush a little garlic and add salt.

Add a handful of walnuts and crush them together.

Add a pinch of margarine and a little olive oil, and continue to crush.

Add a slice of stale rustic bread and 100 milliliters of milk, allowing it to soak briefly before crushing again.

Grate and add four tablespoons of pecorino cheese, then mix everything together.

Taste the walnut pesto and adjust if needed.

Transfer the walnut pesto to a bowl and garnish with walnuts.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens