The Secret to Great Pesto
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- The Secret to Great Pesto
60g basil leaves
1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp table salt), plus more to taste
30g pine nuts (1/4 cup)
Zest of 1/2 lemon
10g lemon juice (2 tsp)
1 small garlic clove
15g parmesan cheese, very thinly sliced or grated
53g extra virgin olive oil (1/4 c)
28g room temperature unsalted butter (2 Tbsp)
Process all ingredients except for oil and butter in a food processor, scraping down the bowl a few times. With the processor running, pour in the oil through a feed tube and process until incorporated. Scrape down the sides, add the butter in small pieces and process until homogeneous. Taste and correct for salt. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days with a piece of plastic pressed into the top to prevent discoloration. If refrigerating, bring to room temp in a bowl of warm water, stirring occasionally until the pesto loosens up.
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She looks like a pianist. Don't ask me why, she just does.
I was just thinking she looks like a music teacher.
There’s so much coincidences here.
Helen mentioned in her interview with Kenji that she wanted to be a Music teacher and learned piano. But said she was bad at it (the music part)
And sounds like a Russian ballerina. :)
@@secretalias2264 😂
Violonist maybe ?
Finally! Someone said it: cup of basil is not an accurate measurement! 😁👌
Nor is a “sprig” of anything.
She also said one egg to one hundred grams of flour for pasta is bad measurement. Use grams where you can an you'd get a more consistent outcome.
Yupp, it's about 3 cups for me. I like it punchy.
A sprig is direct measurement of herb leaves and stem. It is as small as your pinky or as long as your leg solely based on interpretation of the recipe and your taste.
Yes, RUclips did need another pesto ( or anything) recipe….because the ingredients need to be by weight! Thank you for finally making that clear. I have been looking for that information instead of sizes, cups, sprigs , and handfulls and other nonsensical measures. Now I’m happy I found your videos.
Love this channel, pragmatic advice with such a light hearted delivery. Helen you're a gem
Butter in pesto. *GENIUS TRICK.* Thanks for sharing that tip!
Butter in anything, really.
Helen: "It's the way I solve pretty much all problems in the kitchen"
Me: "Pomegranate molasses?!"
hahahaha you beat me to it! LOL
Yaaaaaas!!! 🤣
My first guess was butter, but I folded and guessed white wine. Stupid sexy Ragusea.
This was my first thought too! LoL
I came here to say exactly this.
I think when COVID-19 finally subsides I need to take a vacation to Boston and attend your class. What a delightful teacher you are!!
You're one of the few people that I actually enjoy listening to! I didn't skip a minute. It's relaxing and educational at the same time :D
Came for the pesto, stayed for the accent and personality. 💐. You're a gem Helen. 🌹
Watching grandmas in Liguria make homemade pesto with a blender made me realize that the whole craze around a hand made pesto is a farce.
I would MUCH MUCH rather spend the time making a homemade pasta for the pesto than on the pesto itself
Or get monkey butlers and they’ll do it all.
"Does RUclips need another pesto video?"
Me: clicks on pesto video within 42 seconds of posting anyways
Also some of the best-tasting pesto I had was my friend's vegan pesto that just skipped the cheese entirely. Parmesan is delicious but sooooooo not the point.
Good one.
But, actually, we watch because we love the subject. So, why not more videos?
@@t.o.4251
I approve of skipping the cheese. Better to sprinkle cheese somewhere beyond the middle of the plate. When you start with Pesto (without cheese), your palate is clean. You enjoy the subtleties of the olive oil, the pine nuts and the basil. Later, you feel you need stronger flavours, you add a little grated parmesan. Then, you can keep adding cheese. I find cheese to be very strong: it overwhelms everything, especially Parmegiano. It also kills your taste buds. No wonder that cheese is normally taken just before the dessert.
That table is such a genius way to remember and invent your own herb sauces. Love Helen and how she teaches cooking in a way that makes you understand WHY, then you automatically understand how.
Helen really delivering the smackdown on poor Gritzer, j'adore!
This was really good and the guidance to go light on the cheese and garlic (unlike Gritzer) was spot on.
I just got around to using the basil in my garden and I gave this recipe a whirl. I should have doubled this recipe because it was so good my family polished it off in one dinner. I was looking forward to having some left for a snack. Thank you, Helen!
I'm growing more basil than I can EVER use. Yes...I need a normal way to make pesto that doesn't cost me $$$$. Pronto! You are just adorable too! My husband loves you and I am not even jealous! To watch you is to love you! Could you please do something on making the perfect egg salad sandwich using compound butter. PLEASE please please
You can freeze pesto, if you can't use a big batch immediately.
I would add some black pepper from the pepper grinder in it too. It gives it that extra tiny bit of oomph in flavour.
Wow. I've been growing my own basil and making pesto all summer long for years, but I made a big batch of this recipe and my family couldn't get enough. Our favorite by far! Thank you!
Thanks Helen. I saved this recipe since it is my go to pesto recipe. I’ve made it dozens of times. Tomorrow I’m teaching it to a friends. We will watch your video prior! ❤❤❤
You deserve an Oscar for your stories. Soooo much expression!! Bravo!!!!
Love this lady! Such a pleasure to listen to her and learn from her!
One of the things that you haven't mentioned is that Ligurian cooks usually advice is to chill the food processor bowl (?) and blade, to prevent the pesto from overheating and oxidizing. I found this particularly important if you use a small food processor that heats up quickly.
P.s. I like to use some Pecorino sardo (from Sardinia) instead of Pecorino romano, if you find it you suold try it, it's really good ;)
Yes i do it every time!
Sei ita?😂
@@flaviogiglia9830 Già 😂
Hello, just would like to direct you to an Italian magazine website(available in English too)which in Italy is very much revered: ‘La cucina Italiana’ : in it there is the ‘authentic recipe’ of pesto which should be only composed of 7 ingredients: BASIL, EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL, PECORINO SARDO, PARMIGIANO REGGIANO, GARLIC, PINOLI,SALT. Enjoy!
Why pecorino and not parmeggiano?
@veryserioz I also use gran padano
The guidance to shave your parmesan before putting it into the food processor is well taken - as I've just discovered to my chagrin.
Thank you Helen for using grams in your measurements. It really takes out the guessing from the equations.
Watching from Baguio City, Philippines.Thank You for Sharing how to make pesto.
You never fail to rock my world, Helen! Making some this afternoon, using this fabulous technique.
This was great. You bring things to the forefront that is not known. Helen you rock!
I can’t thank you enough, I thought I was a traitor to my Italian heritage because I really never cared for traditional pesto. I have tried more than once to grow my own basil and each time the bugs ate before I could. The next problem was that pine nuts are a little hard to find and crazy expensive. I finally came up with my own version of a pesto that was tasty and most affordable. This video really helped me and gave me some new ideas Chow
U can swap in walnuts which are cheaper. Most mass produced jarred pesto available in shops is made with cashew nuts.
My friends and I have tried almost all the nuts - almonds, walnuts, cashews and even groundnuts! And it's the balance and proportions which makes the difference! Also toasting the nut does make a difference and last of all don't grind it into a fine paste!
Roasted and Salted Cashews work too
I grow basil every year and make my own pesto. I use walnuts, but I've never tried adding lemon, which sounds good. Also, one year my basil died, but I had lots of spinach and I made a 'spinach pesto' which was surprisingly good. This year I did basil and spinach and it was even better.
I drow basil and used that first video with the mortar and pestle. I hated every minute if it. Never made it again. Thank you for this video!
I've tried all the various methods and your recipe is the one I will use going forward. Thank you for providing clear ingredient ***weights*** for you Basil Pesto recipe...love the butter and lemon juice. BTW - I weighed my garlic cloves and used about 8 grams for your recipe. I made 2 double batches of your recipe today and froze them in zippered freezer bags - flat to remove all the air and to easily break off what I need or quickly defrost the entire bag. The differences I made to your process was to process the garlic and salt first, then added the nuts, butter lemon juice and cheese and processed to a very thick paste. I scraped the bowl to loosen the paste from the bottom of the bowl. Then added the basil leaves and processed and scraped the bowl a few times until very fine paste was achieved. Finally, I added the olive oil at the very end and only pulsed it until combined - maybe 4-5 pulses. My experience is that processing olive oil for even a minute on full speed results in bitter tasting oil.
Since I'm in Oregon, I probably won't see you in one of your classes. Oh wait. I just took a short lesson on pesto. Probably the most basic and practical lessons I could have. I love listening to you and find your directions right to the point. Thank you.
I've made pesto twice, following your recipe, and I love it! Thanks so much for making this video. Thanks especially for giving weight measurements. The first time, I accidentally bought Thai basil. It still tasted nice, but recently I gave it another shot with Italian basil, and was very happy with the results. It was a one-pound bag of basil, so I quadrupled the recipe and froze half of it.
Helen!!! You are the best. Just harvested 125 g of basil, and this is exactly what I was looking for.
I love your personality & presentation more that in did the recipe…awesome job on this Pesto Sauce 👏🏼👍🏼😋🤩
Fabulous as all of your videos. Intelligent, kind, precise and full of tips. Love them!
I love your accent. I love your enthusiasm even more.
Good show
im harvesting some of my basil from my garden rite now .. & yes You need fresh just picked basil not store bought
.. your correct about to much cheese . cause ive made too much cheese batch once .. I LOVE. the butter at the end
so happy i watched your video .. what i do is grow 6 - 7 basil plants and draw leaves from each .. always cut flowers off your plants each morning and you will have a crop till end of summer and maybe late fall ..happy pestoing everyone ..
Thank you sooo much, Helen for the little secret ingredients such as butter and lemon zest. And above all, thank you for providing the key ingredient measures by weight rather than by volume.
That is awesome! I'mma try it for sure.
Much love from Italy (Not Liguria) ❤️
I was watching a bunch of your videos and I must say, the honesty, the mindfulness and the way you present everything is so much fun to watch. Plus it's really really helpful if you take cooking seriously with a pinch of humor! I just love your teaching style 😍
Although I know I'll probably never make my own pesto, or most herbal sauces on my own😔, I enjoy watching for your upbeat attitude and the ideas you give, miss Helen Rennie😊 Thanks
One of your best videos, and that’s a high bar. ❤️ Thanks SOOO much for weighing the ingredients.
I learned how to make pesto while living in Italy and it was only basil as I lived in the North but I have learned other pestos since returning home again and love them all, but pesto to me will always mean basil. Thank you for pointing out that other the mixes can be pesto as well.
So grateful for the weight measurements! I grow basil and am making pesto I freeze for the winter. I'm used to eyeballing things but it helps to have a weight based baseline. Finally! Thank you!
I love your hack of adding butter to get that flavor of a buttery olive oil 😁. I'm going to try that! One of my favorite pestos is made with garlic scapes. Now that's a garlicky flavor that isn't overwhelming 😋.
I love your videos! I started watching you in my teens and really believe you’ve taught me so much. Thank you! 😊❤️
I tried it and it was the best pesto I've ever made. Better than many store-bought I've tried.
You are very funny! And how refreshing to hear the truth about kitchen affectations!
#realcomment
My goodness, that table at 8:45 is some fantastic content. Really appreciate the effort. And I'm so excited to try all those combinations!
Isn’t it! I love the thought of the mint-pistachio combo!
Thank you for reminding me 👍🏼
Agree with you, Book... the chart is awesome.
Thank you Helen 😁 I made pesto for the first time today and followed your practical tips.. the only difference i made was adding ice water to achieve a rough paste then slowly added the olive oil. My family loved it 💚💪
I roast the garlic on a griddle. It keeps the garlic from dominating the basil. I usually pour a bit of olive oil on top and refrigerate it. It keeps fresh longer this way and makes cooking a pesto based pasta quick. I then make sure to flatten the pesto, pour a little more olive oil and place it back in the refrigerator.
I agree. Roasted garlic in pesto is fantastic!
That's a great idea
Great video, thank you! Whenever I have fresh carrots with their greens still attached, I use about half of the carrot greens and half basil. Also, I like to add a slight touch of turmeric to the pesto as an antioxidant to prevent some of the remaining browning/oxidation that the acid doesn't stop. Not enough to taste though. And when I don't have lemons on hand, I use white wine or rice wine vinegar for the acidity. I love pesto/herb sauces so much, no matter how you prepare them!
Each of your videos are PACKED with informations, i am a total fan now. thanks for sharing all of these secrets. Love.
I dont tend to comment on videos, but i had to say how fire this recipe is. First time making pesto, and this came out amazing. So delicious you could eat it with a spoon as is. I think the lemon juice made it so much better.
Cant wait to make more combinations like you pointed out in the vid❤
Seriously the only video I’ve found that does a pesto recipe justice. Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try this
Helen, you are helping with my confidence in the kitchen. ThankYou
Hi Chef, Another simple trick to keep the basil brilliantly green without losing flavor is to blanch the basil for about 10 seconds then shock in cold water, squeeze a bit and proceed regularly. Will try the butter next time in my restaurant .Also freezes well when using this method. Try it sometime. Love your presentation style.
This is great! Really liked the butter and the consistency here! The table towards the end with other examples - excellent content!
What also works for pesto:
1) Using a small / medium Vitamix container (if you have one) for a super smooth consistency. I would also add a little bit of really cold water to it and some breadcrumbs to make the sauce more light. A bit of soft herbs just to give the sauce some twist.
2) Mortar and pestle Is - still - the king. I payed about 30 or 40 USD for mine and recommend getting a really heavy one (Granite). Start with garlic and toasted peanuts. When they look like a paste, add the basel and some coarse sea salt. Add the oil at the end. Finish with lemon / lime / vinegar. Add the cheese at the and. It only takes 15 minutes (unless you add the oil to early). Let the heavy pestle do the work - more smearing than banging. The effort is totally worth it! It is just a different kind of pesto - texturally. The aroma and the taste are simply amazing.
P.S.
The better the quality of the ingredients, the better your pesto will be. As always in the Italian cuisine. I am lucky enough to have some decent garlic, great parm, peanuts that are fresh and ok, and absolutely amazing fresh Italian olive oil - unfiltered. Just the oil alone is out of this world.
I looked at your ingredients list for a moment before I made mine and then used what I had on hand. I took some liberties with the quantities, I had closer to 100 grams of basil from the garden, asiago cheese, hand full of walnuts, lemon juice from a bottle, pink sea salt a couple cloves of garlic, butter and some nice extra virgin olive oil. Then I watched the video. The pesto was wonderful the video was wonderful too. Then I went and put some plastic in the container so it would stay fresher. Nice tip that was :)
Just found this channel. I have an over abundance of basil in my garden. Made 3 batches of Marcella Hazan’s pesto and froze in ice cream trays just a few days ago. Today I want to try your version. Really enjoyed your video and love your personality. I am going to peruse some more of your videos.
Love your snark, Helen! And actual measurement is much appreciated.
Thank you so much. You’re a great teacher. I’ve watched just three videos, so far, and I’ve learned so much. ❤️ Butter in pesto makes perfect sense.
This year I am growing TONS of basil in my garden and making tons of pesto with it. Never going back to "not growing basil". So easy. Give it morning sun and afternoon shade and voilà!
I highly recommend using avocado on your herbal sauce recipes as a replacement/compliment to olive oil. The creaminess is unparalleled! My fave so far is Cilantro, garlic, a bit of shallots, salt, of course the avocado and olive oil. It's great on bread, but it also as become my go to quick pasta sauce when I'm not in the mood for tomato sauce.
Nice video! Another thing--same idea but add either sundried tomatoes or jarred red peppers (the sun dried tomatoes are particularly wonderful.
you are an awesome teacher. I have followed some of your recipes and tips and they are excellent. I am definitely going to try this recipe soon.
after a few ill-fated attempts, I found your video. YES, youtube did need another pesto video. that of yours. it is the best. i replicated yours verbatim. it tastes amazing. only thing i did different was to blanche the leaves quickly so they don't oxidate too quickly. thanks Helen.
*_OH MY DAYS!_*
*_AT LAST !!!_*
*_RECIPES WHICH GIVE THE INGREDIENTS BY WEIGHT ALONE AND NOT BY A MIXTURE OF VOLUME AND WEIGHT_*
*_THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU AND NO !_*
*_PLEASE DON'T STOP_*
The only way to communicate a recipe very accurately is to do so by weight alone.
And everyone has digital scales these days.
(Yes I work in grams, as I guess you do also)
But I am so happy.
Do you know the next logical step ?
That's to do everything, yes, still by weight but in ratios.
So you start out with your minimal ingredient.
That becomes *_"One"_*
the next ingredient will be 1.3, 1.7, 2 or whatever and so on...
Do you follow ?
You're a very clever gal so I am sure you understand exactly what I am saying here.
Please!
Now is the time to set a new universal trend.
Come on Helen!
I am brand new to your channel and I love your energy and passion.
I LOVE IT !!!
>
You might enjoy my gnocchi video (it's done as a ratio). I wish this way of cooking didn't freak people out ;)
Love your channel. Great content & presentation. Using raw garlic in dressing goes much better if it is halved & placed in hot water for a couple minutes. Just microwave 2 tbs. water for 20 seconds & add the garlic. It takes the bite out of raw garlic.
Keep up the good work. Yours is the best food channel on You Tube.
Thank you so much for giving the measurements by weight! I have just now made it a second time and it's simply delicious! So grateful 🙏. The lemon juice is brilliant! I made it without cheese - even then it's brilliant! Thank you so much 🙏
I live in Texas. I use avocado oil, Pecans, garlic, lemon juice, a little salt, Parisian cheese and home grown basil. So good!
According to my father, my great grandma said that the secret to a great pesto was not to skimp on the pine nuts! She also said to use pecorino, but ya know she also subscribed to the very Italian philosophy of cooking what you have and that's what dad imparted to me!
Great recipe! I tried several times already :)) thank you!!!
You are my favourite youtuber now. Your videos should be saved in a safe somewhere so humans in 2000 years will be able to see them lol. I am so happy that I discovered your channel
So happy to hear about the sheep cheese. Hurrah!!! I can't eat cow milk anything. And have that cheese here always. Currently my biggest worry is my cherry tomatoes won't be grown large enough while the huge leaves of basil are ready in my garden. I love, love, love pesto stuffed cherry tomatoes.
If you ever come across Holy basil, do try it and use cashew for the nut component. This combo makes the best pesto I tried so far.
Thank you for that tip I just bought holy basil for the first time ever and wasn't sure what to do with it
I've tried holy basil. Doesn't it become too bitter? I seem to remember it had purple and green leaves & flowers, and had a bitter aftertaste.
@@interestingyoutubechannel1 Hmm I've eaten holy basil my whole life and never associated it with bitterness. Do try it and let me know. I think olive oil and nut will drown out the bitter flavour (if any) anyway so I don't think it's a huge issue.
@@interestingyoutubechannel1 Yeah, I have grown different varieties of holy basil at home, and they are bitter and/or pungent. I never bothered making a pesto with them because the strong flavor was better for a tea, but I am curious and will give it a try the next time I have a large harvest.
Thank you for this great recipe. The butter and lemon will make all the difference.
Ragusea says the same thing about toasted pine nuts.
I also like how you don't swear by the holy kosher salt. Chef John had a video about different salts and how to adjust and I have roughly noted that since I use table salt I should always reduce the quantities from the (kosher salt based) recipes.
I love your channel Helen.
Helen, I love your delivery. Can't wait to try this.
I don't know if anyone commented this, but another way to slow down browning if you don't want to add lemon juice is by adding a few ice cubes in the food processor
I make a indian version with a mix of nuts and seeds - tastes nice and I thought it tasted close enough to the bottled type. But I am going to try this one out! It looks easy and delicious!
Two years ago, my garden produced so much basil . . . my freezer is still full. The lemon and butter, new to me. I use a lot of expensive pinon nuts, toasted to increase the flavor. And, I add the cheese after thawing. And, I'm heavy on the garlic . . . and double dip like you, but who cares when you eat it all, or with someone you usually share raw garlic.
how do you freeze/store your excess basil please?
@@tushya11 I don't. First, make the pesto but do not add any cheese. I use 8 oz containers . . . fill and put in the freezer. The lemon would add antioxidants, but the frozen pesto stays green.
It's definitely a variation I have to try. I use 70/30 basil/parsley plus salt, oil and lemon, besides a little bit of cheese and pine seeds.
In order to grow "Italian" basil, put the plants between tomato plants, they make each other tasty 😊
Love you presentation and sense of humor. Thanks for the smile and enjoyable recipe.
That parody video brought me here back then, been subscribed ever since.
For a moment I thought she was going to say Pomegranate Molasses.
Now that I think about it...
😂😂😂😂😂
I just made pesto for the first time ever! And I used basil from our garden. Best pesto I've ever had, this is a great recipe!
so glad it came out well
Hey Helen.... Thank you so very much for making things so simple - it's SIMPLY HELEN - All the way - surely will look u up next time I am in Boston!!! Till the Cheers!!!!!!
In place of pine nuts,I have used walnuts and almond too....it tastes very good. And I finish it sel guerande sea salt....
As a Greek living in England and cooking professionally doing Greek recipes successfully is the hardest thing. Cant make tomatoes smell and taste nice, cant make basil more aromatic, cant make aubergine sweeter.
Either way..Great video again!
Now I wont another with more you tube characters!!!!!
Παναγιωτης Παπας aubergine is meant to have sweetness? no wonder I don’t like it - never had the good stuff ;)
@@yay-cat If I can describe it properly (my fault from bad english..) is an earthy sweetness and distinctive aroma. When i was planting them in between i was planting also basil. When i was cutting them they smelled something like green apple!!!
I eat pesto almost every day and this is a very good video. I love how many variations there are. It is funny to see how little the amount of nuts and garlic you use. I use 5x amount! Lemon and butter are new to me and will have to try them. Agree the olive oil makes a huge difference. Your end result looks creamy and delicious.
Don't let them rattle you! You're one of the few out of the millions on youtube, including world famous chefs, that knows what the hell you're talking about in the kitchen! I've been making pesto for years and no one at my dinner table has asked me if I use the mortar and pestle. Or said, oh my god, I can't eat this if you didn't make it with a mortar and pestle. Keep up the good work!
I just happened on this Helen Rennie channel ! She seems very knowledgeable !
There seems to be very useful knowledge in this !
And I was glad to find this .
However in my view if the 1st., 4 minutes had been left out, And the narrator,
" Cut Right to the Chase " it would have been a better video !
[ I'm Not trying to be Critical / I'm just trying to convey constructive or helpful Criticism ] .
It sounds strange, but I have a severe nut allergy so I use Sunflower Seeds in my Pesto. Delicious!
Here in South Africa we have Pesto Princess...they make the best pesto ever!!
I make my pesto with lemon and parmesan too. It's so punchy. I love it!
I have used apple cider vinegar for the acidity. That works too. And almonds and casews instead of pine nuts.
Helen rocks. No nonsense real recipes from a pro.
I love your practicality!
I freeze my pesto & use bits of it in my spaghetti sauce. GREAT!