Cooking Pesto Pizza

Cooking Pesto Pizza. I really enjoy pesto and I love cooking pesto pizza. So here are some recipes and a little knowledge about pesto!

The Meaning of Pesto

The Italian word for pesto: pestare, means to pound, or to crush. Pesto was originally prepared with a marble mortar and wooden pestle. The ingredients were pounded or crushed with a circular motion of the pestle in the mortar.But today we have the “food processor” making pest ever so simple!

It has been Noted  that the ancient Romans ate a paste called “moretum”, prepared by crushing cheese, garlic and herbs together. Because the term pesto is a generic word for anything that is made by pounding or crushing, that leaves the original pesto sauce recipe open to flexible and differing ways to prepare the sauce. But the basic ingredients are basil, fresh pine nuts,  olive oil and Parmesan cheese.  That’s the basics, but you can substitute and add all types of things to your pesto and create your own pesto masterpiece . Some people are allergic to nuts, so they don’t use them at all. Other recipes can use walnuts pistachio nuts or any nuts that are available. Fresh herbs, mint , lemon and countless combinations can make incredible flavors

Here are some great recipes for your family

The Basic Pesto

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves (no stems)
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts 
• 2 large cloves garlic
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1. Combine basil leaves, pine nuts or walnuts and garlic in a food processor and process until very finely minced.
2. With the machine running slowly dribble in the oil and process until the mixture is smooth.
3. Add the cheese and process very briefly, just long enough to combine. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

Basil Pistachio Pesto

 

• 3 ounces fresh basil about 2 cups
• 2 ounces Diamond of California Shelled Pistachios 
• 1 ounce grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1 juice and zest of lemon
• 1 clove garlic
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup olive oil

Place the first seven ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times until it  start breaking down the pesto.

• With the processor on low speed, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Puree until smooth and creamy
• Spread it on pizza with instead of red sauce or WITH red sauce as a base
• Toss it with your favorite pasta
• Use it as a spread on a sandwich with sliced deli meats or vegetarian ingredients
• It makes a great marinade for meat, chicken or fish before grilling or roasting
• Stir it into a favorite risotto recipe
• Use it as a sauce on cooked meat, chicken, fish or vegetables
• Brush it on warm corn on the cob

 

Lemon Mint Pesto

• 3 cloves fresh garlic
• 4 cups fresh mint1
• cup grated parmesan.
• ½ cup walnuts , chopped
• juice and zest of one small  lemon
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Add garlic cloves to the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse until finely chopped . Scrape down the sides so it mixes with the other ingredients
2. Add fresh  mint, parmesan, nuts , lemon zest and the  juice. Pulse until a thick paste forms.
3. While the food processor is running , slowly stream in the olive oil  this way it will  emulsify  with the pesto. be sure its not sticking to the sides and is all mixing well
4. Add salt and pepper  to taste stir well and enjoy!

You can truly get creative with your pesto the variations and flavors are endless.

Cooking Pesto Pizza

 

I love it on pizza with fresh mozzarella and asiago cheese shrimp or chicken and some roasted tomatoes  (yes cooked in the wood fired oven), When I make pesto its the traditional way but I sometimes add a hint of mint and some lemon zest  just because I enjoy the extra flavor. I like to make enough for my pizza and for some pasta the next day with some shrimp!