Pesto

It seems like everyone is making pesto bout this time, and why not? It's such a great summery food. So versatile, so simple, so universally admired. But I think it can be daunting for a home cook. So often I hear the "experts" saying that pesto can't be made without a mortar and pestle, it can't be made without true parmesan cheese, blah blah blah.

I for one, don't have a mortar and pestle nor did I have parmesan cheese at the time I made this. I instead used a food processor and some good salty pecorino romano (which I, to be honest, like better than parmesan). Nonetheless, my pesto, though maybe not as good as Claudia's, turned out fantastic (the fact that the basil came from my garden didn't hurt). Forget explicit directions and follow your tastes to great pesto. Here's a very rough recipe for you to tinker with.

5 handfulls basil

1 handful pine nuts

1 handful parmesan

under a half a cup of evoo

clove or two of garlic
few pinches of salt

blend basil, garlic and olive oil, then blend in rest.

really, that's all

Here it is with some roasted potatoes from Lancaster.