How to Make Basil PasteHomemade Genovese Pesto to Keep

Basil, with its fresh aroma, is essential to Italian cooking.

When you have a lot of fresh basil, turn it into basil paste (pesto Genovese) and keep it. Besides pasta, it’s delicious with vegetables, seafood and meat.

When to make	July–September
Time	About 15 minutes
Storage	About 1 week in the fridge, about 1 month frozen

Ingredients

This time we used cashews instead of pine nuts.

The jar is a 200 ml WECK jar, and the blender is an Iwatani Silent Millser (a small electric mill).

• 50 g (1¾ oz) basil
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 30 g (1 oz) pine nuts (or any nuts you like)
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 100 ml (scant ½ cup) olive oil
• A storage jar

How to make basil paste

Use only the leaves. Wash and pat dry, and remove the stems and any blackened parts.

Put the torn basil, garlic, salt and half the olive oil into a mill, blender or food processor and blend.

If the basil doesn’t fit all at once, add it in batches.

Then add the nuts and blend.

Finally, add the Parmesan and the rest of the olive oil and blend. Taste, and add more salt if needed.

Move it to a jar, and it’s done. Sterilize the jar in boiling water beforehand.

If you’re storing it rather than using it right away, pour olive oil over the surface to cover it.

Keep it in the fridge and use within about a week.

To keep it longer, freeze it. Divided into an ice cube tray or small freezer bags, it keeps about a month, and you can take out just what you need.

Just a spoonful of basil paste makes a dish look and taste vibrant. It’s handy to have on hand.