Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [86]
Pesto by the Food Processor Method
For 6 servings
FOR THE PROCESSOR
2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine before putting in the processor
Salt
FOR COMPLETION BY HAND
½ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated romano cheese
1 ½ pounds pasta
3 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
1. Briefly soak and wash the basil in cold water, and gently pat it thoroughly dry with paper towels.
2. Put the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, chopped garlic, and an ample pinch of salt in the processor bowl, and process to a uniform, creamy consistency.
3. Transfer to a bowl, and mix in the two grated cheeses by hand. It is worth the slight effort to do it by hand to obtain the notably superior texture it produces. When the cheese has been evenly amalgamated with the other ingredients, mix in the softened butter, distributing it uniformly into the sauce.
4. When spooning the pesto over pasta, dilute it slightly with a tablespoon or two of the hot water in which the pasta was cooked.
Freezing pesto Make the sauce by the food processor method through to the end of Step 2, and freeze it without cheese and butter in it. Add the cheese and butter when it is thawed, just before using.
Pesto by the Mortar Method
For 6 servings
A large marble mortar with a hardwood pestle
2 garlic cloves
2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons pine nuts
Coarse sea salt
½ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated romano cheese
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
1½ pounds pasta
1. Lightly mash the garlic with a heavy knife handle, just enough to split and loosen the skin, which you will remove and discard.
2. Briefly soak and wash the basil leaves in cold water, and pat them gently but thoroughly dry with paper towels.
3. Put the basil, garlic, pine nuts, and coarse salt into the mortar. Using the pestle with a rotary movement, grind all the ingredients against the side of the mortar. When they have been ground into a paste, add both grated cheeses, and grind them evenly into the mixture, using the pestle.
4. Add the olive oil, in a very thin stream, beating it into the mixture with a wooden spoon. When all the oil has been incorporated, beat in the butter with the spoon, distributing it evenly.
5. When spooning the pesto over pasta, dilute it slightly with a tablespoon or two of the hot water in which the pasta was cooked.
Recommended pasta Spaghetti is perfect with pesto and so are the Potato Gnocchi. In Genoa, a homemade noodle locally called trenette is the classic pasta for pesto. It is virtually identical to fettuccine, and if you’d like to serve pesto on fresh pasta, follow the instructions for making fettuccine. Even more appealing, if less orthodox than fettuccine, would be another kind of homemade noodle, tonnarelli.
Pasta and Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans
WHEN SERVING pesto on spaghetti or noodles, the full Genoese treatment calls for the addition of boiled new potatoes and green beans. When all its components are right, there is no single dish more delicious in the entire Italian pasta repertory.
For 6 servings
3 small, new potatoes
½ pound young green beans
1½ pounds pasta
The pesto from the preceding recipe
1. Boil the potatoes with their skins on, peel them when done, and slice them thin.
2. Snap both ends from the green beans, wash them in cold water, and cook them in salted boiling water until tender—not overcooked, but not too hard either. Drain and set aside.
3. Cook spaghetti or fettuccine for 6. When draining the pasta, hold back some of its cooking water, and add 2 tablespoonfuls of it to the pesto.
4. Toss the cooked drained pasta with the potatoes, green beans, and pesto. Serve immediately.
Pesto with Ricotta
The slightly