We recently made this amazing and flavorful pesto at the home of Brad and Margy Coleman’s in Chicago. Their kitchen was filled with the smell of fresh basil and garlic and it was perfecto! Margy got this recipe from her sister, Liz, who lived in Rome for 20 years. She was a marvelous cook and actually had a job introducing visitors to the local farmer’s markets. Thank you sweet Liz! Here’s what you’ll need:
3 cloves of fresh garlic
1/3 cup of pine nuts
1/2 cup of high quality grated parmesan
2/3 cup of olive oil plus 2 to 4 more Tablespoons
4 oz. or 3 packed cups of fresh basil
Opt. Grilled Chicken pieces
Simply put the first three ingredients in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds. Then add in basil, olive oil and a 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pulse again for a few seconds. Finally mix in the extra tablespoons of olive oil to get a wonderfully textured sauce!
*This pesto sauce has 5 ingredients. (Sometimes I’m gonna break my own rules:)
**If you want the pesto to be vegan, simply leave out the parmesan.
***Serve over more substantial pasta like Bucatini (A very popular type of pasta in Rome which is pictured above.) Ideally it would have wheat and semolina as the only ingredients. We noticed that when we were in Italy, we had very few of the fun digestive issues that we normally have when we eat pasta and bread. The Europeans say it’s because they don’t have preservatives in their breads or pastas nor use many pesticides on their crops. Since we have been home we have been getting fresh pasta and bread made daily at a local Italian restaurant named Garduno’s and we have been burp free!
****There are many different kinds of pastas from different regions. For instance, Strozzapreti comes from the Umbria and Tuscan regions. Interestingly enough Strozzapetti translates as ‘Priest Choker’. Wow, whoever thought of that name had some seriously strong feelings about priests!
Looking Back
Another great way to use this pesto recipe is with The Perfect Veggie-Packed Pesto Pizza. We use Udi’s gluten free pizza crust and it’s another major family favorite!
Funny Sighting
In several kiosks as we were walking the streets of Rome, we saw this calendar of handsome priests. I guess Italians love their priests! Only in Italy will you find a calendar of ‘hot’ priests:) My girls think Mr. July and Mr. September are the cutest:)