Does anyone have a good recipe if I don’t want to buy pine nuts? And do those expensive little things really come from pine cones?
Yes, pine nuts really come from pine cones. And you can use any sort of bland nut in pesto, it just won’t be exactly the same. Macadamia nuts would work well, even walnuts or hazelnuts. Or you could just leave out the nuts and add extra garlic. Mmmmm…garlic…
Basil
Olive oil
Garlic
Parmesan
Pigniolis
Salt
Pepper
There are other pestos, but the above is the most usual type.
We make a lot of pesto around the Pantellerite house. To get around the high cost of pine nuts, we frequently substitute either sunflower seeds (shelled, of course) or bland almonds (the ones they sell for baking).
When the basil is in (like it is now), we just use what Green Bean listed, plus fresh parsley (~1/2 to 1 C.) and minus the pepper. Almonds seem to work well as a pine nut substitute for basil-parsley pesto.
When the basil is out of season, we substitute fresh spinach for the basil and cilantro for the parsley. Sunflower seed kernels are especially good in this variety.
I actually prefer walnuts to pine nuts.
Also, I usually add a dash of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar to the recipe that Green Bean gave. It brings up the flavor of the basil, especially the somewhat bland supermarket variety.
I thought pigniolis are pine nuts?
We never use salt & pepper either.
I didn’t want to look stupid, but what are pignoselistthingies?
Whoa! You people make your pesto weird. I always though is was made out of babies. I mean, it makes perfect sense.
Pesto is derived from the verb * pestare*, meaning to pound or grind, as in mortar and pestle, so it’s not ingredient specific. Any herb-nut-oil-cheese mixture can be used, but there are specifics according to regional tastes. Basil is the preferred herb.
Pignolias are from pines, but only twelve out of the hundred and some pines produce the succulent nut required. In this country, they’re in the Southwest. It’s labor intensive to harvest them, so they’re quite expensive.
The nice quality of pignolias is that they’re soft, and aromatic when fresh, and easy to process with mortar and pestle; the traditional method of making pesto. With modern food processors, nuts are ground more quickly, so more variations have been made.
I use pistachios (not quite as expensive as pignolias), basil, good olive oil, and Parmigiano Reggianio. The cheese really does make a difference. Get a good, sharp cheese like PR.
Make a whole lot of pesto when you make it. It’s great on pasta, of course, but is also a good sauce for fish, roasted vegetables, mixed in dips w/sour cream, and even on toast for breakfast.