Easy | Prep: 10 min | Cook: 0 min | Makes: 1 jar

Shop-bought pesto is fine. Homemade pesto is a different thing entirely. The colour is brighter, the basil actually tastes like basil, and the texture has a roughness to it that the jarred stuff smooths out of existence. It takes ten minutes and a blender (or a mortar if you’re feeling traditional). Once you’ve made it, you’ll find excuses to put it on everything.

Ingredients

  • 50g fresh basil (leaves and tender stems)
  • 30g pine nuts, lightly toasted
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 50g parmesan, roughly chopped
  • 25g pecorino, roughly chopped
  • 100ml extra virgin olive oil
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • Sea salt

Method

  1. Toast the pine nuts Dry-fry in a pan over medium heat, shaking occasionally, until golden. Watch them — they go from toasted to burnt in about ten seconds.

  2. Blitz Add the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and a pinch of salt to a food processor. Pulse a few times. Add the cheeses and pulse again. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil until you reach your preferred consistency — slightly rough is better than baby food smooth.

  3. Season Add a squeeze of lemon juice and taste. Adjust salt if needed.

  4. Store Transfer to a clean jar and top with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent browning. Keeps in the fridge for up to a week.

Cook With Your Senses

Inspired by Ethan Chlebowski’s sensory approach to cooking — the idea that your senses should tell you more than a timer ever could.

  • Look: The pesto should be vivid green with visible texture — not a smooth baby food, not a chunky rubble. Somewhere in between.
  • Listen: The pine nuts will tell you when they’re done. They go from silent in the pan to making tiny crackling sounds. When you hear that, they’re seconds from burning.
  • Smell: Raw basil smells green and peppery. When you bruise it in the processor, it releases a deeper, sweeter aroma. That’s the essential oil you’re after.
  • Taste: Good pesto should taste bright, salty, nutty, and sharp all at once. If it tastes flat, it needs more salt. If it tastes one-dimensional, it needs lemon juice. If it tastes bitter, the basil was bruised too aggressively — use it anyway, it’s still good.

Notes

  • Toasting the pine nuts is not optional. It deepens the flavour significantly.
  • If pine nuts are too pricey (they often are), walnuts or cashews make a solid substitute.
  • The lemon juice isn’t traditional but it lifts the whole thing and helps keep the colour bright.
  • Use this on pasta, bruschetta, grilled chicken, roasted veg, eggs, or straight off a spoon. No judgement.
  • For pasta: toss with hot pasta and a splash of the cooking water. The starch emulsifies the pesto into a proper sauce.

Inspiration

Adapted for Ryan’s kitchen. Original inspiration: www.jamieoliver.com