Ingredients
4 servings
3-5 tbsp of pounded or blitzed hazelnuts
bountiful bunch of basil (8-12 sprigs)
about half the amount of mint (4-5 sprigs)
sea salt to taste
1 large garlic clove (or to taste)
olive oil
3 tbsp shaved parmesan cheese (or to taste)
Equipment:
mortar & pestle
or food processor
Preparation
1. In your mortar & pestle or food processor, crush up your hazelnuts. Be mindful in your processor not to turn them into a paste. Set aside.
2. Take off your basil and mint leaves from their stems and put them into your mortar & pestle or food processor. Add a pinch of sea salt. This is especially important for the mortar & pestle as it aids in the crushing process. Crush or blitz your leaves until they are relatively smooth (the mortar & pestle will be a bit more rough while the processor will be a smoother result.)
3. Add in your garlic and crush / blitz her up! If you are using a food processor, add your olive oil now.
4. If using the mortar & pestle, add in your olive oil and gently give it a stir to blend it. Then add in your nuts. Add in some more olive oil for to keep the consistency somewhat runny.
5. Add in your parmesan cheese. Taste for salt and adjust. If you want your pesto more runny, add in some olive oil. Go easy, once you go too far you can’t go back. Enjoy!
*if you haven’t made pesto with a mortar & pestle and are curious, I highly recommend it. It’s really fun and feels good putting in some real effort. Since we are crushing the leaves, they say, that the oils produce a richer flavor. I’ll be honest, I can’t tell but I love it!
Step 1
Gather all your ingredients. Hazelnuts, basil, mint, sea salt, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese.
Start by crushing up your hazelnuts. Crush them right up to the point when they start to show oil. This is when it can turn pasty and we don't want this!
Overflow your basil & mint leaves as they will get crushed down. Add more as you go, until they are all incorporated.
After about 6-8 crushes, it will start to look like this.
Add in your remaining leaves and a small pinch of salt. The salt helps break down the leaves but you can over salt so be very mindful. The parmesan cheese will also be adding salt.
When you get your leaves to about this point, add in your garlic. This is one piece cut in half.
Make sure to stir your pestle around the mortar as this helps with the breakdown of the leaves.
Add in your hazelnuts and give them a stir, they should blend seamlessly since they are pre-crushed!
Add in your olive oil slowly until you get it to a consistency that you like.
Add in your parmesan, taste and then adjust your salt, olive oil or even acidity if you so desire! I use fresh squeezed lemon.
Consistency is subjective. If I am using this to dollop a soup, I will keep it thicker. If I'm using it in pasta, I will add some pasta water or more olive oil in to thin it out in order to coat my pasta better. Enjoy!
Story
My friend Sonia made pesto once with pepitas (pumpkin seeds, the green kind.) Not only was it fresh and fabulous but it was eye opening. Expensive pine nuts were not the only nuts to use for making a great pesto.
So I adapted to making pesto with pepitas for many years. About 10 years later, I learned from Jamie Oliver (from an online video) that you essentially can use any nut to make a pesto so I’ve migrated to that open ended approach.
I also learned that you can use any sort of herb. This really opens up the gamut of what I used to consider an intimidating recipe because it felt so exclusive using pine nuts & basil. Now, my most common pairing is walnut and parsley pesto. Who knew!?
Pesto is a great recipe to practice intuitive cooking. It’s so much about adjusting and curating it to fit your palette. After a few rounds, it really becomes easy and then the fun kicks in.
Here we’re doing a basil, mint and hazelnut pesto. The basil and mint came from our terrace garden and I even sneaked in some lemon balm. Feel free to adjust the herbs to your liking.
I encourage myself to use a mortar and pestle. I love, love, love mortar and pestles and even though it’s more physical work and a bit more time, it’s so rewarding. Not to mention, it’s the authentic way of making pesto. A food processor works just as good. It turns out a little different, a little smoother. If that is where your comfort level is, definitely go for it. A mortar & pestle is not necessary, to me it’s more for the enjoyment of the process. Have fun and enjoy!
