The best basil pesto

Name: The best basil pesto
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 clove of garlic; 1 large bunch of fresh basil (40g); 50 g pine nuts; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 50 g Parmesan; 1 cooked Jersey Royal or new potato

The Italian classic with basil, Parmesan & pine nuts

“Pesto is so versatile, the principle of herbs, nuts and cheese, bolstered by garlic and good extra virgin olive oil, can be taken in so many different ways. This is the classic combo, celebrating basil, pine nuts and Parmesan, but use what you’ve got in stock. ”

Serves 6

Cooks In5 minutes

DifficultySuper easy

Vegetables Italian Potato Keep cooking and carry on Quick fixes Sauces & condiments

Nutrition per serving

Calories 147 7%
Fat 14.2g 20%
Saturates 2.9g 15%
Sugars 0.4g 0%
Salt 0.5g 8%
Protein 4.4g 9%
Carbs 1.6g 1%
Fibre 0.3g -

Of an adult's reference intake

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By Jamie Oliver

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Ingredients

1 clove of garlic
1 large bunch of fresh basil , (40g)
50 g pine nuts
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
50 g Parmesan
optional:
1 cooked Jersey Royal or new potato

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By Jamie Oliver

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Method

Peel and bash the garlic in a pestle and mortar with a pinch of sea salt.
Pick the basil leaves and add with the pine nuts, and pound to a coarse paste.
Muddle in the extra virgin olive oil and finely grate and stir in the Parmesan, adding a splash of water if you like it a little runnier, then continue bashing and pounding until smooth.
Have a taste and season with salt and black pepper, if needed. For a lovely creamy finish, try crumbling in and stirring through a cooked Jersey Royal. Serve with grilled meat or fish, or simply stirred through pasta – delicious!

Tips

If you don’t have a pestle and mortar, you can use a blender or food processor instead.

ALTERNATIVE FLAVOUR COMBOS:
– Use half basil and half rocket, replace the pine nuts with walnuts, and use pecorino instead of Parmesan to keep things veggie.
– Swap out pine nuts for almonds and basil for rocket.
– Use hazelnuts in place of pine nuts and replace basil with flat-leaf parsley.
– Go for an Asian vibe and use cashews, coriander and a squeeze of lime.

Foodtube

By Jamie Oliver

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