Pesto is Magic!

Pesto brings a splash of excitement to almost any dish. Use it as a spread on sandwiches, put a dollop on baked potatoes, or smear it on salmon, steak or chicken. The traditional recipe is 2 cups fresh basil leaves (no stems), 2 tablespoons pine nuts, 2 large cloves garlic, ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese. The magic of pesto is that you can easily interchange ingredients to bring in something unexpected. You can substitute cilantro or parsley for the basil or just add a splash of them to the basil. You can do the same by using walnuts or pecans instead of the pine nuts. Or you can come up with your own combination to add a surprise to the common place.

You can use any of our oils to make pesto. The Mistral would make a more delicate pesto, however, Gianni likes the Sierra, Miller’s Favorite, or the Barouni for a nice lively pesto.