Pesto, Pesto, Which One is Besto? (The OG One or the Guilt Free One)
A favorite pasta dish in our house is Pesto with Linguine. Years ago (I mean YEARS AGO), I clipped the LA Times winning Pesto recipe from their Basil Festival. The recipe was from the restaurant, Casa Monica, and has been my go-to Pesto ever since. It starts with fresh basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan Cheeses, and olive oil, very traditional, but finishes with Pecorino Romano, fresh tomatoes, and a healthy (lol) dollop of butter. Boom, Besto-Pesto.
Alas, as much as we love Pesto, it is tough on the waistline so when we have an itch for Pesto, we turn to the Minimalist Baker and their version of Pesto. Water stands in for much of the oil and nutritional yeast replaces the cheese. It’s tasty enough to satisfy your Pesto craving and it’s guilt-free.
Let’s Start at the Very Beginning- OG Pesto
Traditionally, Pesto is made with mortar and pestle. Take the path of least resistance and use a food processor or blender. It makes quick work of Pesto making.
Pesto is not only great on pasta, but drizzled on fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, as a sauce on chicken or fish, or blended with mayo for a sandwich spread.
Calorie Worthy…occasionally. After a long hike, bike ride or walk-go for it!
CASA MONICA PESTO
Ingredients
Pesto Sauce
- 2 cups packed basil
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tablespoons lightly toasted pine nuts
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese Grate cheese in food processor
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated romano cheese Grate cheese in food processor
- 3 tablespoons softened butter
Pasta & Finishing Touches
- 3-4 medium tomatoes peeled and seeded
- 1 pound linguine
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
Making the Pesto
- Toast pine nuts in a small dry skillet over medium heat. Set aside to cool.
- Place garlic, pine nuts and salt in food processor bowl, pulse a couple of times. With processor running add olive oil. Once the garlic and nuts are minced, add basil. Process until the basil leaves are finely minced but do not overprocess as the leaves will darken.
- Beat in cheeses by hand, then butter.
- Mince tomatoes very fine with a sharp knife. Tomatoes should not be pureed or mashed.
Making the Pasta
- Cook linguine in boiling salted water until tender but firm as directed.
- Drain noodles, reserving some of the pasta water. Add a small amount of butter to pasta. For each serving, add some tomatoes to the linguine, then add pesto, mix quickly and serve at once.
- Makes about 1 1/2 cups sauce. Approximately 6-8 servings.
Notes
The Lean and Mean Pesto
A guilt-free stand-in for Pesto. Fits the bill when you are counting calories!
Vegan Pesto
Equipment
- 1 food processor You could use a mortar and pestle
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- 3 Tbsp toasted pine nuts Can substitute walnuts
- 3 large cloves garlic peeled
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3-4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp sea salt plus more to taste
- 2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil*
- 3-6 Tbsp water plus more as needed
Instructions
- To a food processor or small blender, add the nuts, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and sea salt and pulse to mince nuts and garlic. Add basil leaves to bowl. With the machine running, stream half of the olive oil. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl. Stream the remaining olive oil. You should have a nice paste. Try to use the pulse button to avoid over-processing.
- Then add 1 Tbsp (15 ml) water at a time until the desired consistency is reached - a thick but pourable sauce. Use the pulse function on your processor to avoid over-processing the basil.
- Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more nutritional yeast for cheesy flavor, or salt if it needs it.