Basil-pistachio pesto
Fresh basil, pistachios, lemon, garlic, olive oil, and hard cheese become a vivid pesto when the mixture is kept cool during blending.
Prep15 min
0 Servings2
Christoph Mayer's pistachio-led house pesto, with Serious Eats consulted for low-shear processing technique
Ingredients
Units
Temperature
Servings
Pesto
- 35 g fresh basil leaves, washed and dried completely rounded
- 25 g shelled unsalted pistachios, pine nuts are the alternative rounded
- 55 ml extra-virgin olive oil rounded
- 12 ml fresh lemon juice rounded
- 1 small garlic clove rounded
- 25 g vegetarian hard cheese, finely grated and made with microbial or vegetarian rennet rounded
- 1.5 g fine salt rounded
- 5 ml cold water, optional, only if the pesto needs loosening (optional) rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Chill the food-processor bowl and blade for 10 minutes. Keep the basil, oil, and lemon juice cold until needed.
- Pulse the pistachios and garlic to coarse crumbs. Add basil, salt, lemon juice, and half the oil, then pulse in short bursts. Scrape the bowl between bursts and stop before the bowl feels warm.
- Add the remaining oil and pulse only until spoonable. Fold in the grated cheese by hand. If the pesto is stiff, loosen it with 5 ml cold water just before use.
- Use exactly 70 g in a thin layer on each 30 cm pizza. Keep the remaining portion cold while the first pizza bakes.
Notes
- Pistachios are the primary nut in this house pesto. Replace them gram for gram with pine nuts when needed; do not combine them and call the pine nuts primary.
- Heat dulls basil and can make the oil taste harsh. Use short pulses, a cold bowl, and hand-stir the cheese rather than running the machine continuously.
- Check the hard cheese label for microbial or explicitly vegetarian rennet. Protected cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano use animal rennet and are not a vegetarian substitute.
- Press reusable wrap directly onto the surface, refrigerate promptly, and use within 3 days. Freeze without the cheese for up to 2 months, then thaw in the refrigerator and stir in fresh cheese.
Sources consulted
- Christoph Mayer’s house notes are the primary source for the pistachio-led formula and lemon balance.
- Serious Eats, The Best Pesto alla Genovese was consulted for controlled food-processor technique and adding oil with minimal high-speed blending.
Good with
Sources consulted
Pistachios, lemon, and the pizza quantity are Christoph's house choices; the source was used only for traditional cold-processing context.
From Christoph Mayer