Olive Pesto Food

PESTO

Steps:

• Preheat small skillet over medium high heat (no oil). Add pine nuts and toast until light brown. Immediately remove and let cool slightly.
• Place all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor or blender.
• Blitz until finely chopped.
• With the motor running, slowly pour the oil in. Blitz until smooth (or to desired consistency), adding a touch of extra oil (or water) if required to help it blitz.
• Handheld blender: Place all ingredients (including oil) in a bowl. Blitz with hand held blender until smooth.

HOW TO MAKE PESTO LIKE AN ITALIAN GRANDMOTHER

Steps:

• Start chopping the garlic along with about 1/3 of the basil leaves. Once this is loosely chopped add more basil, chop some more, add the rest of the basil, chop some more. I scrape and chop, gather and chop. At this point the basil and garlic should be a very fine mince. Add about half the pine nuts, chop. Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop. Add half of the Parmesan, chop. Add the rest of the Parmesan, and chop. In the end you want a chop so fine that you can press all the ingredients into a basil "cake" - see the photo up above. Transfer the pesto "cake" to a small bowl (not much bigger than the cake).
• Cover the pesto "cake" with a bit of olive oil. It doesn't take much, just a few tablespoons. At this point, you can set the pesto aside, or place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Just before serving, give the pesto a quick stir to incorporate some of the oil into the basil. Francesca's mom occasionally thins the pesto with a splash of pasta water for more coverage, but for our gnocchi this wasn't necessary.

GREEN OLIVE PESTO

Steps:

• In a food processor purée the olives with the pine nuts, the garlic paste, and the parsley, with the motor running add the oil in a stream and the Parmesan, and blend the mixture well. Serve the pesto with 1 pound pasta, cooked and drained, reserving 3/4 cup of the pasta liquid to thin the pesto. Or serve the pesto as a spread with crackers.

STEAK WITH SPICY OLIVE PESTO

Steps:

• Pound the steak on both sides with a meat tenderizer or pierce with a fork. Transfer to a large resealable plastic bag; add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Seal the bag and shake to coat; marinate in the refrigerator, 2 to 8 hours.
• Meanwhile, make the pesto: Toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over medium-high heat, tossing occasionally, until slightly golden, about 3 minutes; let cool. Pulse the parsley, garlic and red pepper flakes in a food processor until almost smooth. Add the toasted pine nuts, cheese and 5 tablespoons olive oil and pulse until combined. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 3 tablespoons water and the olives; season with salt.
• Remove the steak from the marinade and pat dry. Bring to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Heat a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat; add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, then add the steak and cook until a dark crust forms, about 7 minutes. Turn and cook until a thermometer inserted into the center of the steak (from the side) registers 130 degrees F for medium rare, about 8 more minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes.
• Brush the steak with some of the pesto. Thinly slice against the grain and serve with the remaining pesto.

OLIVE PESTO BREAD

Steps:

• In a food processor blend oil, nuts, and garlic.
• Add olives and blend until smooth.
• Spread on baguette slices and top with a slice of mozzarella cheese.
• Broil until melted.

KALAMATA OLIVE PESTO

Steps:

• Toss everything into the food processor, pulse until just combined, then process fully until a paste is achieved.

GREEN OLIVE PESTO

Steps:

• In a food processor puree the olives with the pine nuts and garlic.
• With machine running slowly add in the olive oil in a stream, then add in the Parmesan just until combined.
• Season with pepper and salt if desired.
• Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours before using as the flavors will intensify.
• Store covered in the refrigerator or freeze.
• Delicious!

BLACK OLIVE PESTO

Steps:

• Place the garlic, and herbs in a food processor and blend until finely chopped.
• Add the tomatoes, olives and Parmesan and pulse until coarsely chopped.
• Scoop the mixture into a bowl and stir in the olive oil to make a thick paste.
• Serve tossed with freshly cooked spaghetti, black pepper and extra Parmesan, or on bruschetta.

BLACK OLIVE PESTO

Steps:

• Combine pine nuts, 2 oz olive oil, cheese, garlic and anchovies in food processor.
• Blend just until mixture is chunky/smooth combination. Add olive oil, little by little, until mixture is about to separate.
• Add olives and parsley, process just until smooth. Strive for a gritty consistency -- not too smooth.