Pesto Day!

Today was a happy day for me. Why? Because I made two kinds of pesto. What is so exciting about pesto? Firstly, I find it very tough to get nice and fresh basil in Gurgaon. So when I do, I get excited about it as home-made pesto is one of my all-time favorite things! Secondly, I made sun-dried tomato pesto at home for the very first time. I have had the store-bought ones before, but the taste doesn't even begin to compare! Now I have one more item to add to my favorites list. Ok, so I actually made oven-dried tomato pesto....but it was so good...I can't believe I was missing out on it for so long!

I felt like having my pesto rustic and chunky today, so I could use it as a spread as well. Thus I decided to go the traditional way and use a mortar and pestle for the basil pesto, while I used a grinder for the tomato one but used it minimally at low speed. The result was a beautifully coarse texture, perfect for topping some bread with! 

The tomato pesto came to be thanks to the oven-roasted tomatoes that I had in my fridge from this month's Daring Cooks challenge. It's amazing how the simple process of roasting enhances the flavour of tomatoes so much. And this pesto is just one of the many yummy ways to use them. I think I managed to polish off half of it just straight from the jar! And the color was beautiful. Much better than the dark shade of ready-made pesto. If you haven't roasted tomatoes till now....go try it now...and then make this pesto!   

To make a small jar (150 ml):

1 cup oven-roasted tomatoes (or use sun-dried ones)
1 big clove garlic, peeled and chopped into 2-3 pieces
2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsps chopped pine nuts (or walnuts)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (can also substitute with cheddar or emmental)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Toss all the ingredients into a grinder and grind until you reach the desired consistency.

Easy, right?

My basil plant unfortunately doesn't give me enough leaves to make pesto out of them (Maybe I should have more of them around?). So whenever I happen to find good-looking basil leaves in the market......I buy lots, and almost always make pesto. It's great on everything....pasta, roasted potatoes, bread, dips, pizza.....sometimes I even use it to make marinades.

1 cup (tightly packed) fresh basil leaves
1 big clove garlic, peeled and chopped into 2-3 pieces
2 tbsps chopped pine nuts (or walnuts) - (I used a mix of the two)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (can also substitute with cheddar or emmental)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

You can use a mortar and pestle if you're feeling like putting in some extra effort....or stick to a grinder.

I tried to be quick with my hand, but I guess it wasn't good enough as my pesto got quite discolored by the end of it. Though the color wasn't as beautiful....it tasted totally delicious. Even then...I think I'll go back to my food processor next time!

Anyone have any tips on keeping the pesto from getting oxidised? Apart from covering it with olive oil!

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