Pesto: Fresh & Easy!

 

Welcome to WESTERN COOKING IN PLAIN ENGLISH VIDEOS! In this video I've shown how to make a flavorfully fresh and easy pesto using only the following required/optional ingredients and pieces of equipment:

 

Ingredients :

1 Big Bunch of Basil
1/2 Garlic Bulb
Olive Oil
Pine Nuts
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Balsamic (or any) Vinegar (optional)

 

Equipment :

Salad Spinner or Colander
Food Processor with Sharp Blade
Sharp Knife
Cutting Board

 

1. Tear the basil leaves from the stalk and put them in either a salad spinner or colander. Rinse the basil well under tap water and either spin it dry in the spinner or shake it dry in the colander.

2. Remove half the garlic cloves from a full bulb of garlic. Then crush the garlic cloves by pressing them with the flat side of a knife, peel the skins and put the garlic cloves in the food processor.

3. Add the cleaned basil leaves to the food processor. Top with a good handful of pine nuts (or other nuts - I usually use sliced almonds). Add a good shot of olive oil, a small shot of balsamic vinegar (optional), and about a teaspoon of salt and ground black pepper.

4. Lock the food processor top in place and turn the processor on. Chop just until the basil leaves are roughly cut.

5. Add a good layer of grated Parmesan cheese. Cover the food processor again and turn it on. Keep the processor on and add more olive oil as needed until the pesto blends to a smooth, thickly running paste.

6. Turn off the processor and pour the pesto into a bowl or container.

7. To make clean up as easy as possible, rinse the food processor container, top and blade in the sink and either put the pieces in the dishwasher or clean them with warm soap and water.

For more easy to follow Western Cooking in Plain English videos, please see http://wisdeo.com/cook/

To contact me directly, please either email me at bruce_tretter@wisdeo.com or connect via Twitter: @cookingvideos