Pesto (BBC Good Food)

Tempo

10 min

Picante

Dificuldade

Fácil

Rende

4porções

Ingredientes

125 g

pine nuts (pinhão; *imported, expensive — see substitutions*)

125 g

Parmesan, grated (parmesão ralado — or vegetarian hard cheese sub)

large bunch fresh basil leaves (manjericão fresco — *grande maço*; ~80-100 g leaves)

garlic clove, crushed with the flat side of a knife

200 ml

extra virgin olive oil (azeite extra-virgem)

Salt + freshly ground black pepper

Squeeze of lemon juice (suco de ½ limão siciliano)

Modo de preparo

01**Toast pine nuts.** Heat a dry frying pan over medium. Add pine nuts; toast **2-3 min**, shaking the pan, until golden and fragrant. Don't walk away — they go from golden to burnt fast.
02**Blend.** In a food processor: Parmesan chunks + basil leaves + garlic + toasted pine nuts + olive oil. Season with salt + pepper.
03**Pulse a few seconds** until just coming together and smooth-ish. Don't over-blend — you want some texture.
04**Taste.** Add a squeeze of lemon juice if it tastes flat.
05
**Use immediately**, or:
- **Fridge:** decant into a jar, top with a thin layer of olive oil to seal, cap. Keeps 1 week.
- **Freeze:** spoon into ice-cube trays; freeze; pop into a freezer bag. Each cube is 1 portion.

Pesto (BBC Good Food)

Homemade pesto is a different ingredient from supermarket jars — fresh, herbaceous, less salty, vivid green. Freeze in ice-cube trays so you always have a quick weeknight pasta.

Heat: 0/5.

Substitutions (Brazilian sourcing)

Pine nuts (pinhão): Brazilian pinhão da Araucária is a different species — sweet, large, more like a chestnut. Won't work here. Substitute with:
- Walnuts (nozes) — closest flavour match
- Cashews (castanha-de-caju crua) — for a less assertive nut
- Sunflower seeds (sementes de girassol descascadas) — if you need cheap
- The imported Italian pinhão (pinoli) sells at Empório Santa Maria for premium prices.
Parmesan: Parmesão ralado (Polenghi, Tirolez) is fine; for posh versions, Parmigiano Reggiano imported.
Basil: can be grown in a pot easily in BR. The supermarket manjericão is usually small — buy 2-3 maços.

Variations

Pecorino: swap Parmesan for pecorino romano — saltier, sharper.
Reserve some pine nuts: stir 25 g toasted pine nuts in at the end (after blending) for textural pop.
Walnut pesto: swap pine nuts for walnuts; add 30 g more olive oil (walnuts absorb more).
Rocket pesto: swap basil for rúcula (rocket); peppery alternative.
Spinach pesto: half basil, half blanched spinach for cheaper pesto when basil is scarce.

Notes

Pasta serving: for 400 g cooked pasta, toss with 4 ice-cube cubes (or ~½ cup) + 2-3 tbsp pasta cooking water (loosens). Top with extra Parmesan.
Pesto on bruschetta / sandwiches / spread on chicken or fish before grilling — everything.
Why freeze in ice-cube trays: each cube is a single portion. You always have weeknight pasta sauce in 10 min.
Don't overheat pesto — never simmer it. Stir into hot pasta off the heat.