There is some truth to the joke that you can eat everything with pesto.
This tasty sauce with its bright green color is popular all over the world. It is served with pasta, eggs, pizza, bread rolls, sandwiches, and various meat and fish dishes. Pesto is often mixed with different sauces and other dressings. In Italy itself, pesto is prepared using a variety of ingredients. Therefore, the flavor characteristics of the sauce can vary greatly. But in any case, it is almost impossible to ruin pesto!
At the same time, there are a number of secrets that make the sauce incredibly tasty and aromatic.
We would like to reveal some of these secrets to you in this article!
How do you make pesto?
Ingredients:
250 g basil leaves
300 ml olive oil
2 tablespoons roasted pine nuts
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 cloves of garlic
a pinch of salt
Experienced chefs say that the secret to perfect pesto lies in preparing it with an olive wood mortar and pestle.
Why is pesto made with a mortar better?
The word pesto comes from the Italian “pestare”, which means to crush or pound.
However, despite the name, the pestle should not be pounded up and down to make a good pesto, but rather turned.
This is how you properly make pesto with a mortar and pestle:
- First, mix the garlic and salt until a creamy paste is formed. To achieve a good result, you must turn the pestle from left to right.
- Then add the pine nuts,
- Then the basil (gradually).
Note: Now, however, the mortar should be turned slightly in the opposite direction, i.e., from right to left.
- The grated cheese.
Note: The Parmesan can be replaced with another hard cheese. If the cheese is less salty than Parmesan, you can add a little more salt.
- and finally the oil, drop by drop.
Note: There are also people who grind the cheese and then emulsify the oil by simply stirring.
Pesto prepared in an olive wood mortar simply tastes different and better.
If you want to make the perfect pesto, get a mortar and pestle from the Mediterranean. It is not the cheapest, but it will remain in your family for generations, perhaps centuries.
At SOLTAKO you will find mortars of the best quality in different designs and dimensions.
