You will need a small food processor, blender, mortar and pestle, mezzaluna and bowl, or sharp knife and large cutting board to make pesto.

You will also need a medium-sized bowl, a spatula, and a spoon.

I use a small food processor, and begin by loading the processor bowl with half the garlic clove, half the basil leaves, a pinch of salt, and a good pour of olive oil–about three tablespoons. You want to be generous with the olive oil here. Hit the processor’s “high”  button and process for about 30 seconds. The ingredients should begin coming together.

Stop the machine, remove the top, and have a look.  The ingredients should appear amalgamated and moist. Like pesto, in fact. If the basil appears dry and flaky, add more olive oil and process a little more. If you see pesto, add more basil, cheese, and olive oil and keep going.

If you think the processor bowl is getting too full, you can spoon some pesto out into the waiting bowl.

Whatever the case, keep going, blending the ingredients in the processor (or however you are making the pesto), tasting continuously for cheese, salt, and texture. The cheese should feature without taking over, and the texture should be pleasantly nubbly.

Once the pesto is blended, use the spoon and spatula to transfer it into the bowl.  Stir it well, tasting again. If you aren’t serving it immediately, film the top with olive oil and refrigerate.

To serve the pesto, remove it from the refrigerator about ten minutes before eating. Remove the amount desired with a clean spoon. When you are finished, cover with the remaining pesto with fresh olive oil and refrigerate. The pesto will keep, refrigerated, 3-4 weeks.

Pesto may be eaten with pasta, chicken, pork, in sandwiches or on pizza. Richard Olney gives a sensuous, evocative description of eating pesto-filled tomatoes at Lulu Peyraud’s Domain (with her husband, Lucein Peyraud, she ran Domaine Tempier Winery). The recipe, Plum Tomatoes with Basil, appears in Lulu’s Provencal Table.

Notes:

As mentioned in the post, using a vegetable peeler to shave curls off cheese is easier on my hands than grating. Do whatever you prefer.

Rather than dictate an arbitrary amount of olive oil, I’d rather be honest and admit I pour as I go. If you’re worried about overdoing it, cover the bottle with a finger or pour some olive oil into a measuring cup.

Pine nuts are traditionally used in pesto, and they’re wonderful. They’re also very expensive. Add two tablespoons, or more, if you wish. Walnuts make a good substitute.

Lemon juice is not a traditional pesto ingredient. Further, it fades pesto’s lovely deep green. But if your pesto is lackluster, lemon juice might save it. Try it on a small amount of pesto first.

Cleaning tip: old toothbrushes make excellent cleaning tools, especially for food processor blades. Baking soda mixed with white vinegar is a cheap, effective cleaning solution for greasy blades and processor bowls.