I have made pesto plenty of times using my Vitamix machine and I thought it was pretty good. Little did I realize how unprepared I was for the burst of flavor that hit my mouth when I tasted this ground pesto sauce. It has been an hour since I ate it and I still have the full taste of the pesto in the back of my throat! This is THE only way I will ever prepare pesto sauce for my family. Thank you Chef John for introducing us to this revolutionary technique. It almost makes me want to use my mortar and pestle on just about anything...
RIDICULOUS!!!
This was ridiculously good!! First time I've ever made pesto and won't make it any other way!! OMG! My 13 year old and husband gave it a "10" (we rate all of my food).
I understand that the secret to this amazing recipe is doing it a mortar & pestle. If you do nothing else in the mortar, at the very least add the oil and incorporate it this way as oils tend to get bitter when whipped in a Vitamix or other blender/processer. This is one of the (many) keys to why this is so amazing. Use all of the freshest ingredients available and you'll have yourself some RAVE reviews! I only wish I had a huge mortar!! This was gone in one night with three people eating it. It is amazing on fresh, toasted (wood-grilled preferably) buttered sourdough bread as an appetizer, too! DON'T heat it as it will ruin it. Just mix it into hot pasta or serve on buttered bread. Indulgent!! LOVE!!
Got a mortar & pestle just to try this with summer's bounty of basil. Outstanding! After my first batch I watched the video and it gave me a better idea of the technique. Thanks Chef John.
Let me tell you that I did not want to love this recipe. I love an easy food processor recipe, so I hoped the hard(ish) work wouldn’t actually be worth it. But THIS...this recipe is worth it. It’s so good. Just try it. I bought a mortar and pestle at tjmaxx for about $12. My tip is to fold a kitchen towel and place it under the bottom so that it doesn’t bang as loud. And let the tool work for you, you don’t have to put a lot of force into it or your hand will start to cramp. Then buy 2 baguettes and enjoy your life.
Wow. This was a revelation. I made half a batch because I was alone and my mortar and pestle is small; there was already a fair amount of cursing as I went about making this. It’s really not that much work, even if it feels like it at first; I was surprised at how quickly the basil leaves were pulverized. I ended up putting the garlic through a garlic press into the mortar, because I wasn’t having much success pounding it into a paste. The variety of basil I had might have been spicier than the Genovese type I’m used to--this pesto was SO sharp, and so fragrant! I even pulled the green sprouts from inside the cloves of garlic to keep it from being overpowering. I only used about 1/2 ounce Parmesan and 2 Tbsp olive oil for my half batch; my cup nearly runneth over. I put a few tablespoons of my amazing pesto on penne pasta and inhaled it. I need bigger and better equipment because I want to eat this stuff all summer long.
May not have ground to a paste as in video or used the correct cheese but I loved not using my tiny food processor. No electricity? Make pesto! Taste is wonderful can't wait to have it on bread!
I used a combination of almonds and pistachios.
R EEEE DICULOUS !!!!
Wow! Follow this recipe and you'll fall off your chair. Definitely takes some elbow grease, but if you grow your own Basil this is a go too recipe for when you have too much and need to prune the plant back. Thank you Chef John!
We made this the other night, it was amazing!! My first pesto ever and I'm sold, we can handle the truth.
