I had a hankering for pesto the other day. I don’t have a food processor and my attempt years ago to use a blender for pesto was a failure. But I figured that pesto was being made before electricity and modern gadgets, so it must be possible. Earlier in the summer I had searched online and found someone who had made pesto using a mezzaluna, a half-moon shaped knife.
So, armed with a sharp knife (no mezzaluna in my kitchen) and a few handfuls of fresh basil leaves from the garden, I proceeded to make this wonderful concoction known as pesto. You probably noticed that there are a few ingredients missing from that picture. I did use garlic, but it didn’t find it’s way into the photo. Unfortunately, I had no pine nuts or walnuts, and since it was 4:30 in the afternoon when I decided to start this experiment, I wasn’t going to run out to the store to buy any. What I found out is pine nuts are not essential – good, probably better with than without, but not essential.
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