Classic Italian Pesto Sauce, No Added Refined Sugar
International dishesSauces and DipsItaly10 minutes
This takes 10 minutes and a blender. The sauce comes out bright green and rich, good tossed through pasta or spread on bread. Holding that green is the one difficulty.
Two ice cubes go into the blender with everything else, which keeps the jug from warming and the basil from darkening. It blends in two passes, 2 minutes first, then the salt and pepper go in and it blends again.
This batch weighs about 132g, at roughly 308 calories per 100g.
Method
Put 60g basil leaves, 30g shelled pine nuts, 5g garlic, 30g grated parmesan and 2 ice cubes into a blender.
Blend for about 2 minutes until smooth.
Add 1 teaspoon black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt and blend for another 2 minutes until the sauce is even and fine.
Pour the sauce into a clean jar and use it for pasta, on bread, or as a dip with chicken and fish.
Tips
The ice cubes are what keep the sauce green rather than dull.
Pine nuts are expensive. Plain roasted cashews or walnuts cover the same 30g and stay just as rich.
The la hung tay called for here is Western basil, found in large supermarkets and imported produce markets.
Blend in two passes, 2 minutes first, then season and blend for another 2 minutes.
Pour it into a clean jar, seal it and keep it in the fridge.
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