Making Pesto

Pesto Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups of basil leaves
• 1 cup of raw almonds
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• 1 clove of garlic

Where to find them...

BASIL

They're available at most wet markets in Singapore, but wet marts close by noon usually. Cold Storage and Carrefour sells Italian Basil and they would cost you about $4.

I plant my own basil leaves in a pot. There are many types of basil, and even though they all go by the same name, they smell and taste very different. I use Thai basil, which is different from Sweet basil and Italian basil.

Tips on growing basil:

They thrive in Singapore's tropical weather. You can grow them from dried seeds, or if you're impatient, just go to the near by nursery and buy a pot. Nursery plants may be pot bound, so be sure to transfer it into a large pot which can hold a generous amount of dark well draining soil, and your basil will grow like no tomorrow!

After the plant has reached a certain height (usually about 2 feet from the roots), they will start to flower and seed. Its best to trim the tips before the plant reaches this stage. I usually start trimming the tips (about 1-2 leave stages) at height of about 1 & half feet. Reason for doing this: once the plant starts to seed, the leaves lose their flavor. Also, trimming the tips ensures that you get a nice, bushy & compact basil plant.

I've got so many basil plants in containers, that by just trimming the tips once every 1-2 months yields me enough basil leaves to make a jar of pesto.

RAW ALMONDS

I usually buy them by the weight from Carrefour. They 're slightly cheaper at the wholesale centres at Victoria Street or the Fu Lu Shou Building in Bugis (central Singapore).

To roast the almonds, just rinse them, drain and place them in a single layer in a baking pan. Its okay if they're still slightly wet. I usually roast the nuts for about 15 minutes at 250 deg C in my convection microwave oven (Use the Convec Function) Basically once you can smell the aroma of the nuts, they can be removed from the oven shortly after. They will continue cooking for a short while after removal from heat.

MAKING THE PESTO

You will need a blender. I use a small hand held once with a beer mug capacity compartment, which is a size I find very managable and suitable for chopping small amounts of spices and herbs.

Process the basil, doing so in batches if need. Do not over process, as you might end up with a raw grassy smell instead of the fragrant aroma. Remove from the blender. I normally add the clove of raw garlic into the last batch of basil.

Next process the roasted almonds, once they are cool. Mixture should be crumbly. I usually use the pulse function on my processor and give short bursts of a few seconds as I prefer a coarse nutty texture. You may process a little longer for a finer feel but again, do not overprocess as this will release the oils from the nuts.

Mix the processed ingredients, add enough olive oil to form a paste and lastly add salt to taste. I usually add an amount of salt thats less than what I deem necessary as this allows me to vary the amount of pesto I use each time I cook.

At this stage, the pesto may be spooned into an ice cube tray, frozen and kept for some time. To use, just remove the number of cubes required each time.

USING PESTO TO COOK

Pesto with garlic and chicken

You will need some chicken fillet, garlic, pesto paste, olive oil, pepper and salt.

Using a pair of kitchen shears (this certainly beats using a knife), cut chicken fillet into bite-sized cubes. You may marinate the pieces in 1-2 tablespoons of pesto paste while preparing your pan.

Stir fry chopped garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Then add the chicken, stir till cooked and add enough salt and pepper to taste.

You may stir in some cooked pasta at this point, serve this dish with greens on the side and an ice-cold glass of Chardonay to complete the meal.