Pesto Fettucine

This summer I planted Sweet Basil in my Herb Garden. It's growing quiet happily and smiling with its pretty little white flowers. It is better to prune the Basil regularly so that it gives out new branches. I could see the stems getting woodier. So I decided to prune them and make some good Pesto. Basil has a spicy mint-clove combo flavor. It's more or like our Tulsi (Tulsi belongs to Basil family too).

In Italian culinary, Pesto is a sauce made by pounding the Herbs using a Pestle. Not to do any injustice to the meaning I decided to make Pesto the Authentic Italian way. As soon as I kept my buddy Mortar&Pestle on the Island, I could hear grumblings from my mom (my sis supporting her) that I could do it with no time with the food Processor. Ignoring their comments, I started making Pesto. I felt like doing it with M&P as it really brings out the fullest flavor of the herbs. I admit it is laborious and time consuming but it is worth doing it for a striking difference in the taste.



Ingredients

Bunch of Fresh bail Leaves
3 cloves of Garlic
1/2 Cup of walnuts
1/2 Cup of Olive Oil(combination of EVOO and olive oil)
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method :
Combine Garlic and Wanuts in the mortar. Pound(up and down movement) them first
using the pestle. Add Basil leaves and drizzle olive oil and grind(Circular motion)them together. Add salt and peeper to taste. Grind it till the oil is well integrated to the basil mixture and becomes a paste.
Now the Pesto is ready to season any pasta.


I read in many books that pesto goes well with the long pastas like Fettucine,Linguine. I decided to use Fettucine to go with the Pesto.

Ingrdients:

Fettucine Pasta : 1 Packet
Pesto Sauce

Method:
Cook pasta al dente or according to the instructions on the package. Drain well. Toss the pasta with the pesto sauce and garnish with cherry tomatoes(grilled it for a min) and serve.

Verdict:

Mom : It's like Delivery Lehium(Medicine given to mothers soon after delivery).
Dad : Denied to taste. I admit that you have to have a tooth for the pesto.
Mr B : It's different. I liked it.
Daughter : It's yummy. Supera errukuma!
Son : You should have given the pasta before adding the green thingy.
Sister : Not so great.
Mine : I liked it . But a hint of lime juice might have enhanced the taste.



Advice: Make Pesto only if you like the basil taste. I prefer olive oil over Extra Virgin olive oil as the latter is more Pungent.