Recipe: Pesto Sauce (blender or food processor)

PESTO SAUCE

"A jar of pesto keeps well in the refrigerator. Besides being wonderful on pasta it is great on bread: spread it on slices of bread and broil or bake. You can also top baked potatoes with pesto, and add it to a simple bechamel sauce as well as to vegetable and pasta soups and pasta bakes.

You can make pesto in the traditional way using a mortar and pestle if you like. It takes longer, but the method is the same, with elbow power replacing the action of a machine.

Recipes for classic pesto sauce vary slightly and some people argue details but, quite honestly, when a recipe contains basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts and Parmesan you really cannot go wrong! It is also a basic idea that can be successfully adapted in a number of ways."

2 cups fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 Tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/2 olive oil
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Squeeze of lemon juice, optional

1. Put the basil leaves, garlic cloves and pine nuts into a food processor or blender, with a little of the olive oil if necessary for the machine to work, and whizz to a fairly smooth paste. (A blender needs a little liquid in order to work, while a food processor can often start off with "dry" ingredients.)

2. Gradually add the rest of the oil, whizzing as you go, then transfer the mixture to a bowl, or to a screw-top jar if you are planning to keep the pesto in the refrigerator. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, if using.

3. Season with salt and pepper and add a squeeze of lemon juice to bring out the flavor if you think it needs it. Either use immediately, adding the pesto directly to hot, cooked spaghetti, tagliatelle or other pasta, or keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Excerpted from Vegetarian Pasta by Rose Elliot
Copyright 1997 by Rose Elliot. Excerpted by permission of Random House, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.