There's one thing I make that my boyfriend hates. It's this Pesto.
How's that for selling a recipe? First lesson in blogging ... always start out a recipe post with how much someone hates it. I should really write a book on this stuff.
And he doesn't just hate it with an mediocre intensity ... he hates it with the intensity of the fiery sun blazing down on a tiny, shell-less bug meandering across the hot baked dessert surface. In July. During the Apocalypse.
So I make it every night.
No. No I don't. I make it whenever he isn't going to be home at night for dinner, because I happen to LOVE this pesto. As does everyone else I've ever made it for. And not just mediocre love. It's the kind of love The Pope feels for God, the kind of love I feel whenever I see a picture of a fluffy kitten sleeping in a shoe, the kind of love a 15 year old boy feels for every set of boobs he sees You know. True love.
It's not your average pesto because its base is milk as opposed to oil. The result is a pesto tasting cream sauce, like an alfredo but far less rich.
I LOVE IT WITH ALL MY HEART. Phew. Had to say that.
Best thing about it? It's really easy and really fast to make. From me to you ... a quick and easy, yet delicious ... Pesto!
Gather your ingredients.
Ingredients
1 cup basil (packed)
1 cup parsley (packed)
3 cloves garlic
¼ cup pine nuts
½ cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. butter
¼ cup flour
3 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. nutmeg
1. Add basil, parsley, garlic to blender or food processor. Blend.
2. Add cheese , salt pepper and oil. Blend.
3. Finally, add pine nuts. Pulse until slightly chopped.
4. Melt butter in large saucepan. I use a nonstick pan.
5. Add flour. Cook 3 minutes without browning.
6. Kay, mine browned a little bit. Not so much to have to start over though. Add milk.
7. Whisk until it's well blended.
8. Bring to a boil. Cook gently 5 minutes.
9. Add additional salt and nutmeg.
10. Stir in basil/parsley mixture.
11. Combine well.
Like so ...
12. Serve with linguine and a side of crostini with olive oil and sea salt. Top with a few toasted pine nuts.
And I've left the best for last. The VERY best part of this pesto? You can freeze it. OH YES YOU CAN! I know ... it's a milk based cream sauce. You'd think that'd screw everything up when it comes to freezing. Nope. Not at all. So while the bounty of ingredients are fresh and plentiful (haven't said anything that Amish in a long time) you should whip up a couple of batches to have on hand for the winter.
Now ... I'm off to help raise a barn.
→Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
Sounds wonderful and I fully intend to try it, but you can't really call it "Pesto". It's a bechamel sauce with pesto in it. I make a chicken pizza with pesto, alfredo sauce, chicken, artichoke hearts, spinach, black olives with 5 italian cheeses on top. I'm going to make this sauce to take the place of my regular pesto/alfredo base.
haha I live that as well, my boyfriend and children HATE pesto!! I however adore it, my solution, small portion in my freezer just for me :)
Denise - I've got a bunch in the freezer right now! Love it, love it, love it. ~ karen
Three words: Oh. My. God.
Awesome recipe -- my tongue and tummy thank you!
Abbie - LOL. Did you make it? Or is this reaction based solely on the look of it alone? :) ~ k
Oh, I made it. I ravaged my wimpy basil plant over the weekend in order to come up with enough basil -- and I don't regret it. Heaven on a plate. With pasta. And tomatoes and pearl mozzerella on top.
Although, when I first saw this post initially, I had a similar reaction. Except it was my eyeballs and salivary glands that were thanking you.
made this tonight... AMAZING! but you already knew that it's amazing or else you prob wouldn't have posted about it. the whole family loved it... even the baby
Thanks Jamie! Yup. I know it's amazing, LOL. I try to only post recipes I KNOW are delicious. Glad everyone approved! ~ k
Love, love, love PESTO! In fact, I made pizza tonight an we always ONLY use pesto, never red sauce. I am looking forward to this recipe. Especially since I can freeze it! Thank you.
butter + flour + milk + nutmeg = LOVE
Its the roux base I use to make mac n cheese. that nutmeg puts it just over the edge and I never tell anyone that part so it never tastes just like I make it. I'm so rude.
Although it's a slight adulteration, you CAN make pesto with walnuts if you can't afford pine nuts, which face it-- are about like cooking with gold nuggets the way prices are. Try starting with a smaller amount, adding more if it suits you. (This beats the heck out of trying to take them back out if you overdo it.)
Pam'a - NO! NO you can't make pesto with walnuts!!!! No, no no! No you cannot! Ask any Sicilian! Just omit them! OMG. My heart is about to jump out of my chest. LOL. ~ karen
So, over 2 years later, I am here to tell you that almonds work too. :-)
'Cos they are SO much cheaper than pine nuts.
LOL. O.K. Noted. ~ karen!
My husband I eat completely different meals so this is no big deal for me. I can't wait too make it!!! If I had the ingredients on hand right now I would probably make it now rather than go to bed. Yum Yum I can't wait.
This looks sublime. And as another person from Queensland, Australia, I have both parsley and basil in the garden all ready to go - can't wait to try it!
I made this for dinner and it was a hit!! Thanks! None of us are huge pesto fans, so it was a bit risky. I have to be honest, no pine nuts~can't afford them and luckily they don't impress me. I love how quickly it all came together. My hubby pulled in the drive as I was finishing the pasta. Before he finished changing out of his work clothes,the sauce was done! I made a bruschetta to go with it and my first tiramisu for dessert. YUM!
Jonalynn! Excellent. I laughed when I saw someone had already made this for dinner! If you hate pine nuts don't add them, but if you're just indifferent to them just buy a tablespoon or so next time from the bulk store and *toast* them in a pan before using 'em. Toasting them makes all the difference. (but if you don't like 'em ... you don't like 'em and you may as well avoid 'em) ~ karen!
hey karen great recipe that i also will have to make for myself as john doesnt like pesto either! or creamy sauces! but he would eat just about everything else so i cant complain! we should have dinner together on pesto night.
Marilyn - YES! Boys don't know anything about basil. Dumb dumbs. ~ karen!
nice recipe!!, I'm going to try the "hate" issue blogging, haha!
Teresita - I've had a lot of views and comments on this post. Apparently the hate blogging works. ~ karen!
lol...Karen, I was sitting here thinking how special I am that a blogger actually replied to a comment from me (which you do often with many people and that's pretty special in and of itself), but then I didn't want you to think I was pants-wetting, window-licking, short-bus kind of special (uhh, and I don't want you to think I think you are). Anyway, was pleasantly surprised (gak!) that pine nuts in bulk were ONLY $21.49 per pound. My mistake. : /
Yummy recipe Karen :-) Your pesto/white sauce gives me an idea: I will use it for the seafood enchilada instead of just plain-old milk white sauce. The added flavor of herbs (basil-parsley-pinenut or cinlantro-mint-jalapeno to gear toward Mexican Chimichuri sauce) will definitely bring the enchilada recipe to the next level. Thanks for freezing tip, too.
Coinkidinkally, I'm making pesto today. I'm so glad I read this before I started making it. This is something I could eat every night (and would if I didn't mind looking like Jabba the Hut in about 2 weeks). Off to store to buy pine nuts. Those little puppies have gotten even more expensive than they used to be...$35/pound! Good thing I only need a little bit, should only cost about $29). But, to be honest, I decided to harvest some one year when I was living in the mountains, as a lark. Four hours later, I had exactly 1/2 cup of pine nuts. I'd charge more for them, to be sure.
Thanks again for the recipe and for the truly great blog.
Thanks Deb! And I know! I just about punched the cashier in the face when she rang up my pine nuts. I knew they were a lot but had NO IDEA how much they'd gone up in price. $15 for a small bag. ~ karen!
This is what I learned from hike organized by the local Sierra Club Chapter at Big Bear Lake Mountain Resort in Southern California. Pinenut comes from pinyon pinetree. You can recorgnize the pinyon pinetree by its single-needle leaf, not a cluster. Local native Indian harvest the nuts in the fall by picking the pine cones littered the forest floor every year. I wonder whether you have pinyon pinetree in Canada.
Chau - Ooo! Great tip. I'll look into it! ~ karen
Love basil or pesto anything! This looks like a winner.
P.S. My husband doesn't HATE basil, but he's very wary of it. He does, indeed, HATE cilantro with a fiery passion, though. Sigh!
Mine too! Won't go near cilantro. This plus the fact that I can't even utter the WORD "bean" without causing him dire gastric distress really cramps my options. Oh, and he won't eat cereal for dinner either, dang it.
Sounds yummy Karen..my son would probably love it but my boyfriend wouldn't touch it..he is very picky..my son and I are trying to eat healthier so I wonder if I we could use fat free milk and light butter..not sure if we could find low fat parmesan cheese but will try..your fella is so handsome I would forgive him for not liking the pesto as long as he just sits there quietly and looks good..lol
HI Nancy! The lowest I would go for this recipe is 1% milk. If you want a healthier option choose whole wheat pasta as opposed to low/no fat anything. Low/no fat things are usually loaded with weird stuff and filler. And ironically there are usually almost as many calories as buying the real deal. For eating healthier, you're better off to go with full fat and cut out anything white. White bread, white flour, white pasta, white sugar etc. etc. So go nuts ... use real parmesan cheese but do it with whole wheat pasta. ~ karen!
this looks so delicious! i need a food processesor!
HI Karen,
I've been following your blog for about a year now. Love your humor. And a big THANKS for each step-by-step picture you post with the instructions. I appreciate that I can SEE what the food is supposed to look like (or not look like :) Thanks again.
And by the way, we used to have a chicken who didn't like her coop. So, being that we lived in the country, and didn't have neighbors, we let her roam around the yard. She laid her eggs in my perennial gardens :o/ Her name was Pecker (my kids named her, hehe)
YUM! Mouth watering...
ps new word of the day...amazeballs!