Skip to main content

Need to Elevate Your Pasta Dishes? Learn How To Make Pesto

Rich, herby, bright, and incredibly flavorful, pesto is one of the world’s most popular sauces. The beautiful green mixture is the perfect accent to so many dishes, from just about every pasta dish imaginable, to steak to seafood. It also shines bright on its own, spread generously on a warm baguette, its gorgeous green color taking center stage even before the first bite. Mix a spoonful into soup for an instant upgrade. Stir a bit into mayonnaise for a deliciously earthy sandwich spread. Substitute your red sauce for a vivacious green the next time you make a pizza. The possibilities are endless, and too often, this wonderfully versatile ingredient gets labeled as nothing more than a pasta sauce. It’s time to rebel.

Pesto was invented in Genoa, Italy, appearing for the first time in the mid-19th century. The lineage of this fragrant green sauce can be traced to an ancient Roman version ­­called moretum, a dip made from herbs, cheese, garlic, and olive oil. The name pesto is Genovese, meaning “to pound” or “to crush.” The Genovese are intensely proud of their invention. For the pesto connoisseur in Genoa, true pesto can only exist in its birthplace, made with the original ingredients of basil, cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano or pecorino sardo), pine nuts, garlic, and olive oil.

Related Videos

Because pesto is now global, the sauce has acclimated itself to the flavors of different cultures and countries. Peruvian pesto, introduced to the country by Italian immigrants, is made with spinach and walnuts. In southern France, a version without nuts called pistou is popular. Even in Italy, different versions of pesto exists, such as Sicilian pesto alla trapanese, which includes tomatoes combined with traditional pesto ingredients.

These days, pesto is often made with a food processor. This a great replacement for the modern cook, as the result will still be delicious while also saving time. For a more traditional version, though, try preparing pesto in a mortar and pestle. This process creates a completely different texture and flavor. Blending the sauce produces emulsification, resulting in a smooth sauce. By using a mortar and pestle, the pieces of the individual ingredients will remain separate, allowing the ability to taste the separate flavors rather than a smooth, blended paste. For the best pesto, use only small, young basil leaves.

Pesto Recipe

A long spoon holds fresh pesto above a jar of pesto.

Traditionally, pesto is a mixture of basil leaves, pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic, and olive oil. There is no denying that this version is delicious, and is one of the most popular sauces in the world for good reason. However, as with most sauces, when making your own, feel free to tweak tradition a bit. In our experience, we’ve found that pistachios make for a beautiful substitution to pine nuts, contributing to the gorgeous green color, and rounding out the overall flavor with their milder, sweeter notes. The addition of artichokes provides a sweet and earthy flavor, and a velvety texture to an otherwise rather grainy sauce.

Though our recipe is a slightly less-than-traditional take, you’re welcome to substitute pine nuts for pistachios, and eliminate the artichoke hearts. But we think these changes really amp up the flavor and improve an already incredible sauce.

Yield: Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves, stems removed
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup pistachios, shelled
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 4 ounces marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
  • Juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

  1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients except oil
  2. While food processor is running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until pesto is smooth
  3. That’s it. That’s how easy it actually is.

Editors' Recommendations

Bubbly? Full-bodied and red? Zesty and white? Your favorite wine types, explained
All the primary types of wine (and everything you need to know about them)
Glasses of different kinds of wine

Trying to understand everything about wine all at once is an impossible endeavor. Wine is a beautifully complicated, ever-changing quiddity, and even the most decorated and prestigious wine experts in the world often find themselves confounded by its constant little surprises.
That isn't to say that, if you care to, you shouldn't become educated on the subject of wine. It's a hobby and a passion that's tremendously fun to pursue, and there's much to learn on the matter.
If you find yourself in the beginning stages of your wine education, just as in everything, you'll want to start with the basics. It's possible that up until now, you haven't put much thought into the several different kinds of wine there are, except for, say, red and white. But while there are obviously exceptions within every hard and fast rule, for the most part, wine can be broken down into roughly nine categories. Here we'll take a minute to break those categories down, explain what they mean, which wines fall into them, and, our favorite - how to drink those wines.

Sparkling wine

Read more
This NYC restaurant’s $518, 19-course tasting menu of Chinese cuisine is amazing
Chef Guo in New York is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a feast for the senses and the palate
Chef Guo food.

Butterfly Falls in Love with the Flower.

Step inside the restaurant Chef Guo, and the first thing you'll be greeted with is a majestic model of a ginko tree, the national tree of China, complete with brightly colored golden leaves. The tree cascades over the dining room, a space filled with Chinese calligraphy on the walls and regal Indonesian Zi Tan rosewood chairs. Soft and pleasant Chinese instrumental music plays in the background, an oasis in an otherwise hectic Midtown Manhattan.

Read more
How to reheat tamales: Learn the secret to every method
Enjoy tamales just as much the second time around
Our Place tamales.

Tamales are one of the tastiest and most popular dishes for a night out on the town, complete with a few frosty margaritas. A traditional Mesoamerican dish, tamales are stuffed with meats or beans and cheese and wrapped in a banana leaf or a corn husk. Steamed and served with pico de gallo and rice, they make for a delightful dish that's easy to make and packed with flavor and spice.

Tamales are easy to prepare and a great option to make ahead of time and reheat for a quick meal on the go. Whether homemade or store-bought, there are a few tips you'll want to know when reheating them so that you can savor all the goodness these little flavor pouches have to offer. Whether you want to use a steamer, microwave, stove, oven, or air fryer, here are the best ways to make sure you get the perfect hot tamale.

Read more