Pesto presto!

This morning I'm waiting for the SMEG appliance repairman to arrive, to replace two of the control knobs on our "new" stove.  The stovetop works fine but we also want to be able to use the oven.  After the repair guy is done, I'm going out with Bryan to pick up another trailer load of wood for them; it's their turn, and since they bought their new wood cookstove they have been burning it pretty much continuously, so their supply of fuel is getting low.

Kiana regularly places a bulk order for parmigiano-reggiano cheese, and a number of her friends join in on the order.  It's really delicious stuff, aged for three years, and the price is much lower than if you bought it at the regular grocery.

As well, this week she put in an order for five kilogrammes of fresh basil, imported from Israel, and she offered me one kilogram to make a batch of fresh pesto.

It took quite some time just to process one batch, which we each did yesterday afternoon.  I would imagine she will be busy all day today making three more batches to go in their freezer... Here are some photographs from the process, including a recipe at the end.

toasting the pine nuts

smashed and peeled garlic

washing the basil leaves in a weak solution of baking soda to remove any residues

grinding the parmigiano

belgian measuring cup (the glass has a line indicating 33 cl)

toasted pine nuts processed to a butter consistency

chopping the basil leaves

final mixing by hand

penne al pesto

bon appetit!

the leftover jars of pesto for the deep freeze

Kiana's recipe (I tripled it)