Shirley's Pesto
3
cloves garlic
scant teaspoon Maldon salt
5 or 6 whole black peppercorns
a plateful of basil leaves (I strip a large supermarket-sized plant for this -
works fine. I prefer home-grown, but I don't always have enough)
a handful pine nuts
an ounce and a half of grated parmesan and pecorini, mixed
first cold pressing extra-virgin olive oil (good olive oil is ESSENTIAL to this)
Toast your pine nuts in a small frying pan then shove on a plate to cool while
you strip the basil, peel the garlic, lay your salt, peppercorns and olive oil
to hand and grate the cheese.
Sit yourself down comfortably with your pestle and mortar. Throw in the garlic,
salt and peppercorns. Start to smash and grind them up. Add a few pine nuts and
some basil and continue smashing and grinding. Add more basil and more pine
nuts, carry on grinding until all the basil and nuts are used and the whole is
reduced to a more-or-less puree and the kitchen is filled with the green, spicy
scent. Now stir in a little olive oil. Add the cheese and stir in then loosen
the whole with more olive oil until the consistency pleases you. (I add nowhere
near as much oil as most recipes recommend - I don't find it necessary.)
Leave for a few hours for flavours to blend.
And now - make some tagliatelle by hand - is the perfect combination.
But bought will do!
Recipe contributed by Shirely
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