When herbs are abundant and at their best, make lots of pesto, putting some into the freezer in small plastic pots or ice cube trays. Give jars away to friends, pouring a little olive oil over the surface of the pesto to seal it and stop it going brown.
Pesto is the prince of Italian dishes. Making it is a pleasure as the fragrance fills the air and stimulates the appetite. Originating in Genoa, the capital of Liguria, the name means “to pound”, because the ingredients are ground in the mortar by the circular motion of the pestle.
There are two predecessors to pesto. The Ancient Romans ate a similar paste, called moretum, which included the normal garlic, herbs, olive oil and cheese, but also had vinegar added. In the Middle Ages a paste was made by Italians called agliata, which contains garlic and walnuts. In Sicily, pesto is made using almonds.
Basil did not make its entrance until the mid 19th century, when pesto as we know it became popular. Genoa is most famous for this sauce but every family in every town has its own version. Some add a few tablespoons of ricotta to soften the taste. You can get the same effect by adding fromage frais. It is often served on squares of pasta in Italy, called “silk handkerchiefs”. Potatoes and string beans are traditionally added and the dish is finished with pesto.
The traditional way to pound your pesto is to use a pestle and mortar. Competitions for the best pesto are held in Italy every year and everyone has to make their contribution in this old-fashioned way. I own 26 different pestle and mortars, collected all over the world, the smallest in brass found within the old city walls in Jerusalem and the largest, over 30cm/12in tall, roughly hewn from a tree trunk in Kenya.
My favourite, which I use almost every day, was made of rough pottery in a refugee camp for the Karen tribe on the Burma/Thailand border. I was filming, with the BBC, the World Health organization’s first trials of using the herb artemisia to treat malaria patients in a hospital set up there by Medecins sans Frontières. We all slept on the floor – patients, doctors and film crew alike. The mosquitoes were biting, the rats and scorpions were scavenging, the temperatures were high and the producer felt sorry for me having to report the science to camera for a few hours every day without getting much sleep. The pestle and mortar were his way of saying thank you and every time I use it I think of those patients and the great results of the trial. Artemisia has now successfully treated millions of patients worldwide.
I make several types of pesto at my herb cookery classes, including favourites like rocket/arugula or lovage, which are superb. I also like pesto made from sage, wild garlic leaves, coriander/cilantro and parsley. I use pine nuts for pesto made from more subtle herbs, but walnuts are best for recipes using stronger herbs, such as lovage, sage, rocket/arugula and wild garlic. Parmesan is saltier and less subtle than pecorino. It is worth going to the effort of using both in my Classic Pesto. But for simplicity I usually only use Parmesan in other pesto recipes.
CLASSIC PESTO
I sometimes make small amounts of pesto using the pestle and mortar, although my food processor does most of the work. Do not blend the mix for too long as the pesto needs to have a rough texture.
Preparation: 15 mins
Makes about 240ml/8fl oz/1 cup
2 handfuls of basil, or other delicate herbs such as parsley, chervil or coriander/cilantro
1 garlic clove
3 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
100ml/3½fl oz/scant ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 tbsp freshly grated pecorino
freshly ground black pepper
Start by blending the basil with the garlic and then the toasted pine nuts – they thicken the pesto and add to the richness. Then very slowly add the olive oil until well blended and finally stir in the grated cheese and season with pepper.
STRONG HERB PESTO
Gutsy, strong flavours like lovage, savory or wild garlic are good for pesto, but I make them with walnuts instead of pine nuts and double the quantity – using 50g/1¾oz walnuts. For obvious reasons, I omit garlic cloves with wild garlic dishes.
Preparation: 15 mins
Makes about 240ml/8fl oz/1 cup
1 large garlic clove (omit for wild garlic pesto)
2 handfuls of chosen strong herb, such as sage, rocket/arugula, lovage, savory or wild garlic
50g/1¾oz/½ cup walnuts
100ml/3½fl oz/scant ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
8 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or half Parmesan and half pecorino)
freshly ground black pepper
As in the classic pesto recipe, blend the herb and garlic together, then add the nuts and blend again. Very slowly dribble in the olive oil. Stir in the cheese and season with black pepper.
