Pesto is a sauce made from fresh basil, garlic, grated Parmesan cheese, olive oil and pine nuts. It is of Italian origin and the word pesto means pounded, because traditionally it was made by grinding the ingredients together by hand in a mortar and pestle.
So begins Lorel Nazzaro`s love letter to the subject, a small pungent book called ”Pesto Manifesto”(Chicago Review Press, $6.95) that she wrote when her recipe collection became as large as her pesto business. Nazzaro, who turned her family`s back-yard basil crop in Maine into a thriving pesto business, is probably right now, as we read, in her basil field, pulling up the mature plants by their roots.
The homemade pesto, made in small batches in a food processor, is packed in 8-ounce containers, labeled with ”The Pesto Plant” sticker, and sold to restaurants, shops and markets all over the state of Maine.
Nazzaro is, frankly, a pesto addict. ”When we moved to Brunswick 15 years ago, our neighbors made what they called `green sauce,”` she said during a recent phone interview, still breathless from running for the phone from outside. ”I loved it at first bite.”
She has subsequently joined millions of Americans who, since pesto began creeping onto stylish menus about 18 years ago, now consider it as important as salt and pepper and would feel the larder was bare without it. Pesto, with its sensual licorice/basil taste, its powerful nutritional combo of olive oil and garlic and protein-packed cheese and nuts, and its infinite versatility have given it tremendous staying power. It provokes and satisfies the palate at the same time: Pesto is powerful stuff.
Although pesto takes about five minutes to make, commercial pesto has become big business. Supermarkets now are carrying both Italian and American brands (such as the good Contadina brand), with 7 or 8-ounce containers generally selling from $4.50 to $4.99 apiece.
Nazzaro`s pesto though-made only with fresh basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and Parmesan-is a little different. It has a fresher, less salty taste, a brighter green color and a less oily texture. ”Pesto has enough flavor without adding salt,” she says.
And she doesn`t use much cheese either ”because it overwhelms the flavor, and it freezes better without so much cheese.” But mainly, she says, her pesto is so good because her basil is organically grown, ”for health reasons, of course, but also because it tastes so much better.”
The basil plants, ocimum basilicum, are direct-seeded in May. As the summer progresses, the tops of the plants are snapped off to encourage branching so by August the plants are lush and full. Sea breezes aerate the 1,000 plants, and they get plenty of sun in the wide-open field where the seeds have been scattered.
The pesto business has allowed Nazzaro to do for a living what she loves best-garden. ”When we need extra income,” she laughs, ”we go down the road to L.L. Bean and work for a couple of weeks.”
When serious pesto production begins in late summer, friends are invited to come over with their food processors for pesto parties (they`re paid in pesto) and Nazzaro and her 9-year-old daughter paste ”The Pesto Plant”
labels on plastic containers, some of which are sold immediately and the remainder of which are frozen for year-round sales.
Although her company is considered a mail-order one, the problems of shipping have kept ”The Pesto Plant” pesto a Maine product for now. Not to worry: Nazzaro implores us to make our own.
Two years ago, encouraged by friends, she edited her vast ”ways to use pesto” files into ”The Pesto Manifesto,” an inspiring tract of basil growing advice and recipes, including pesto burgers, pesto biscuits, pesto pizza, pesto popcorn, eggplant with pesto, pesto cheesecake, pesto squid, pesto chicken, pesto bulgur salad, pesto salsa and a ”pestovers” chapter-how to revive leftovers with pesto.
”Growing up with a Neapolitan father,” Nazzaro says, ”I always heard
`See Naples and die.` I say, `Eat pesto and live!` ”
Making pesto
Start with the healthiest fresh basil you can find. The leaves should be strong, deep green and highly aromatic. Sold all year round in produce markets, basil is usually at its best in August, when the local crop is sold at produce stands and markets. It is usually sold in bunches for about $1. In winter the bunches are small; right now, they`re bouquet size. For one-day storage, put the bunch of basil in a glass of water like a bunch of flowers and keep at room temperature. For longer storage, wrap the stems with a damp paper towel, cover the leaves loosely with a plastic bag and keep
refrigerated.
Pine nuts are very expensive and usually not very fresh when purchased in spice bottle-size jars. Better to check oriental produce markets, where pine nuts are less expensive. The Chinese pine nuts are shorter and fatter than the Spanish pignolia, but they`re just as tasty and fine for pesto.
THE PESTO RECIPE
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Yield: About 1 cup
2 packed cups basil leaves plus a few stems, washed and dried
2 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
1/2 cup good quality olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts, heaping
1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1. Blend basil, garlic and olive oil in blender or food processor until smooth. Add pine nuts and cheese and blend until smooth, about 10 seconds. When ready to use, add more cheese, if desired.
Variations: Use walnuts instead of pine nuts or equal amounts of both. Mix some parsley in with the basil. Mix heavy and light olive oils or add more oil, to make a thinner sauce.
Storing: In a tightly covered container, pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 weeks or more. It will stay bright green until it is exposed to air, when it will darken, but it will still taste good. Pesto also freezes extremely well. It may be frozen for up to a year in plastic containers. Or, for small amounts, freeze pesto in ice cube trays and, when frozen, take out cubes and store them in well-sealed plastic bags.
Using pesto
To use pesto in the classic way, as a pasta sauce, mix hot pasta with pesto to taste, adding more cheese if you like and thinning out the pesto with some pasta cooking water, if desired. A perfect meal is slices of sun-ripened tomatoes spread with a little pesto or anointed with a pesto vinaigrette.
Addicts will tell you that pesto can be used to perk up just about anything. For a terrific flavor jolt, put a tablespoon or two or more in:
meatloaf, chicken salad, potato salad, dips, burgers, homemade bread, salad dressing, vegetable soup, guacamole, lasagna or salsa. Use pesto in frittatas and on vegetables, spread it on bagel chips or mix it with butter or oil for popcorn. –
