Pesto

I've seen several references to making " A Pesto ", I 've aways thought of it as making " pesto ".
What is the english word equivalent process for PESTO ?

So would some kind pesto make please enlighten me :-

Is making a pesto a process that can be applied to many different herbs & veg or is it soley for basil
Does it have to be cooked / canned for it to be storable for a few months after it is made?

If it is able to do other veg /herbs as a pesto can I have a few recipes please?

Plantoid.
There are many ways to make "pesto", and when one refers to "a pesto", it would be one of those, I guess
I have a couple of ways I make it, one with basil, I just take all the basil leaves Ihave, throw in Garlic, olive oil and freshly grated parmeso reggiano cheeze, pine nuts, and blend them all up.... and serve over pasta...
Also you can spread above pesto over pizza.

I also make it with cilantro and olive oil and walnuts, and parmesan in the blender.
I know in restaurants they would put in LOTS of olive oil, but I only use a little, and everything else is really according to taste.

Dave... I think of the term Pesto as a combination of herbs, nuts, cheese, salt and oil. Of course there can be many variations in there! I believe it comes from the Pestle and Mortar in the olden days before gadgets. It's Italian, like salsa would be a Spanish term.

I have never canned it but I assume you could. I freeze mine in icecube trays and then pop them out into a freezer bag for longer storage.

I make a variety of pestos. I typically use walnuts, instead of pine nuts, because I find pine nuts to be too expensive. No one has ever been able to tell the difference.
*regular basil pesto
*basil-kale pesto
*sage pesto (wonderful on pork and with butternut squash ravioli)
*sage-kale pesto
*cilantro pesto (great on tacos)

I freeze in the 4 oz. ball jars. Just scoop the pesto in the jar and cover with oil. Put the lid and ring on and freeze. 4 oz. is about perfect for most applications.

I've never even thought of making pesto before, but now I really want to do it. I wasn't sure how many of my basil starts I was actually going to plant. I guess I'll plant them all. :-)

And Hoosier in Louisiana! I'd love to see your recipes.

Thanks everyone ,

So basically it is chopped /pulverized , olive oil based , green herbs and nuts with hard cheese sometimes . it freezes well .
Questions :-

Is thick tomato puree ever added to the pesto's ?


When defrosted does it have to be cooked or can it be used straight away on a ham salad for instance ?


When thawed out how long will it keep in a fridge at say 3 oC, 35 oF ( ish )


Do you add salt to the stuff you are hoping to freeze?

I persuaded my family that it would be restful to do a one-day cookery course in Italy, as a change from driving long distances to look at lovely places. Big mistake as far as the "rest" went because it was hard slog from 10 til 5 though we did have a nice lunch break .
Pesto was one of the things demonstrated and the lady used just what has been said: pine nuts, basil, and Parmesan cheese in roughly equal amounts, olive oil, lemon juice and salt to taste. Maybe garlic too. Whizzed in a food processor. She said it kept fine all winter in a glass jar in the fridge as long as you keep a layer of oil on the surface.
I would keep it a month myself - if it lasted so long. I love it spread on warm toast. And it is great to use pecans or walnuts instead.
It defrosts fine and can be used straight away, no cooking. You can also freeze herb leaves blitzed with oil, then add the other stuff later. I've never tried tomato puree in the mix. You could look at the ingredients of pesto rosso in a shop maybe, that has sun-dried tomato puree in it I think.

I've made it both green and the purple basil. If you cover it with a layer of olive oil and keep it in the refrigerator, it will keep for months.

yummy, I like it on pasta, especially when I am craving those carbs.

Found a tomato based pesto on my favorite recipe website. You might like it. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sun-Dried-Tomato-Pesto-no-nuts/Detail.aspx

Thanks Lilly , I didn't realize it was that simple.

Pesto is so delicious! Plantoid, not sure if anyone answered your question but pesto is eaten raw, not cooked. Spread it on bread or toast, garnish your eggs with a flavorful dollop, etc. It's yummy tossed with pasta after the pasta finishes cooking and draining.

My favorite pesto is made with garlic scapes in lieu of basil. In former gardens I grew an abundance of hard neck garlics that gave me a generous harvest to make my pesto. It freezes extremely well.

I've never tried making pesto with walnuts or pecans, I'll have to give those a try. I use peanuts instead of pine nuts since they add a similar sweet nut flavor and are far more economical.

I tried some smeared on a pork chop then griling the chop .. wasn't too impresed .Now if it had been neat out the jar on a cooked chop that sounds much more edible.
Were having Nazi Goreng to night with some shredded boiled buttered perennial kale as a green veg dish ..
Shop brought Pesto will not be on the menu tonight but will tomorrow & the day after if we have roast chicken and have some left over for wraps with salad stuff on Friday

Home made Pesto is way better than any jar you buy in the store. In fact, I planted twice as much Basil this year to double our Pesto production from last year, LOL. We put in on sandwiches, pasta, and pizza. Just Google "Pesto Chicken pizza", choose a recipe and enjoy. My new favorite pizza!

Hoosier in Louisiana wrote:I make a variety of pestos. I typically use walnuts, instead of pine nuts, because I find pine nuts to be too expensive. No one has ever been able to tell the difference.
*regular basil pesto
*basil-kale pesto
*sage pesto (wonderful on pork and with butternut squash ravioli)
*sage-kale pesto
*cilantro pesto (great on tacos)

I freeze in the 4 oz. ball jars. Just scoop the pesto in the jar and cover with oil. Put the lid and ring on and freeze. 4 oz. is about perfect for most applications.

Thank you so much for these other pesto ideas! I LOVE the stuff! I've only made it with basil before, with variations on the kinds of nuts I've used -- so far I actually like cashews in it best, they make for a creamier, sweeter sauce.

We have alot of piñon pine trees relatively close to where I live. According to local lore you can gather them every 7 years or so. They do ripen in different areas in different years. I've went a couple of times, but it is hard work gathering the nuts. The second time I went I mostly made a picnic and watched everyone else do the work . I still have some in my freezer that I need to roast. I can see why they are so expensive. It is labor intensive.