The Best Pesto Recipe

Daniel Gritzer

Yield:Makes enough for 4 servings
Active time:30 minutes
Total time:30 minutes
Rated: 5.0

Using a mortar and pestle results in the best pesto. [Photographs and video: Vicky Wasik]

This pesto sauce, through rounds and rounds of testing, has been honed to the perfect ratio, ingredients, and method. And, while a mortar and pestle requires a bit of work, the superior sauce it produces compared to a food processor can't be argued with. This is the true, best pesto. Still, if you want to use a food processor, you will end up with a very good pesto using this ratio of ingredients. (Just pulse the garlic, salt, and pine nuts together first, then add the cheese and follow with the basil; stir in the oil.)

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Why It Works

The best pesto is still made the old-fashioned way. Read the Whole Story

Using a mortar and pestle creates a luxurious sauce with a rich, deep flavor and a beautiful, silky texture that's superior to what a food processor can do.
Pecorino Fiore Sardo is a slightly milder sheep's-milk cheese, and creates a more balanced, less harsh pesto sauce.
Mild olive oil results in a more balanced, less aggressively spicy sauce.

Ingredients

4 medium cloves garlic
Generous pinch coarse sea salt
3 ounces basil leaves (from about a 4-ounce bunch)
2 tablespoons (30g) pine nuts
2 1/2 tablespoons (1 ounce) grated Parmigiano Reggiano
2 1/2 tablespoons (1 ounce) Pecorino Fiore Sardo (see note above)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (150ml) mildly flavored extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1.

Using a mortar and pestle, combine garlic and sea salt and grind to a paste.
2.

Add basil leaves, a handful at a time, and grind against the walls of the mortar; it's easier to use a circular grinding motion than to try to pound the leaves with the pestle. Continue until all basil leaves have been crushed to fine bits and have released their green liquid.
3.

Add pine nuts and gently crush with pestle, then work into a paste with basil and garlic.
4.

Add both cheeses and continue to use pestle to grind into a paste.
5.

Slowly drizzle in olive oil, working it into the pesto with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Pesto can be served with pasta right away, or transferred to a jar or container, covered with a small layer of olive oil, sealed, and refrigerated overnight.