Wednesday, July 5, 2017

When Making Pesto...




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Pesto can be a persnickety thing, especially among purists (please pardon the puns!)  But cookbook author Erica Demane, who penned The Southern Flavors of Italy says it need not be. Erica told Tonia's Kitchen the pesto most Americans are familiar with comes from the Genoa area of Italy and contains pine nuts.  Her version has both basil and almonds, along with fresh mint and tomato.  The result, it tastes a little fresher.  Erica told Tonia she adds garlic, olive oil and salt to the mix as well, but not cheese.  It turns out to be a great sauce for grilled fish, especially swordfish.

1/2 cup shelled, unsalted pistachios
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 plump cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 cup (packed) basil leaves, chopped or torn
2/3 cup (packed) mint leaves, chopped or torn
+ about 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil and salt, to taste 
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Begin by toasting the nuts in separate batches on a baking sheet just until golden and fragrant, about 10-12 minutes for the almonds and hazelnuts, and 7-9 minutes for the pistachios and pine nuts. (If you think you'll be vigilant enough, you can stick them all in the oven together in different pans, removing each kind of nut as it turns golden.) Set them all aside to cool. Using a towel or moistened hands, rub the skins off the hazelnuts. Combine everything in a food processor (or a mortar and pestle, if you like things done the old-fashioned way) and pulse until reduced to a slightly chunky paste, adding more oil if necessary.  Taste for salt, then store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to a week.