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Italy recipePesto Genovese (Basil Pesto)

Bright green basil pesto with pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan and olive oil, made in seconds and with no cooking.

By Wanda Oyola 10 min Easy

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Recipe in testing: I'm cooking it in my TM7™ and will update the steps and the photo with my own.

A small glass jar of bright green basil pesto with pine nuts, a wedge of parmesan and fresh basil leaves.

Pesto Genovese comes from Genoa, on the Italian coast, where it is made with small, sweet basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, aged cheese and good olive oil. It is fresh and green, with a little bite of garlic, and a spoonful turns plain pasta, a sandwich, grilled chicken or a bowl of minestrone into something special.

There is no cooking at all. The Thermomix® TM7™ grates the Parmesan, chops the garlic and pine nuts, and then chops the basil with the oil for just a few seconds, so the pesto keeps a little texture and its bright color. The whole thing takes about ten minutes, and most of that is picking basil leaves.

Made in the Thermomix® TM7™

Pesto Genovese (Basil Pesto)

Makes: About 250 g (1 cup), enough for 450 g (1 lb) of pasta

  • Prep10 min
  • Cook0 min
  • Total10 min
  • Serves6

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Make sure the mixing bowl is clean and completely dry. Place the Parmesan in it and grate 10 sec/speed 10.
  2. Add the garlic and pine nuts and chop 5 sec/speed 7. Scrape down the sides with the spatula.
  3. Add the basil, olive oil and salt and chop 8 sec/speed 6.
  4. Scrape down the sides and check: you want tiny flecks of basil in the oil, not a smooth puree. If you still see large pieces of leaf, chop 3 sec/speed 6 more.
  5. Taste and add a pinch more salt if it needs it. Spoon the pesto into a small glass jar, press it down and pour a thin layer of olive oil on top.
  6. To serve it with pasta, toss 450 g (1 lb) of pasta cooked on the stove with the pesto and 3 or 4 tbsp of the pasta water, off the heat, so the basil stays green.

Tips

  • To keep it green: basil darkens when air touches it. Keep the pesto in a small jar with a thin layer of olive oil on top, close it and refrigerate up to 5 days. Each time you use some, smooth the surface and add a little fresh oil.
  • Freeze it in an ice cube tray, cover the tops with a few drops of oil, then move the cubes to a freezer bag; they keep about 3 months. One or two cubes are just right for a plate of pasta or a pot of soup. For the best texture, leave the cheese out of the batch you freeze and stir it in after thawing.
  • Nut-free version: use the same weight of hulled sunflower seeds or pepitas (pumpkin seeds) instead of the pine nuts, or leave them out and add 10 g (2 tbsp) more Parmesan.

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