Brazil nuts (I’ll tell you how to roast them yourself)
Kumato tomatoes
Garlic
Extra Virgin olive oil
Good quality Parmigiano Reggiano (or Grana Padano)
1 lemon for juice (you can also add in a bit of the zest)
Salt
Fresh cracked pepper
Blender
Microplane
To roast the nuts:
In-Shell: Preheat oven to 400°F
Spread unshelled nuts on a baking sheet in a single layer, with at least ~1.5cm between each nut
Roast until shells darken, and the nuts start to smell like a heavily marbled, aged steak
Take them out to cool, and don’t make the pesto the same day you roast the nuts
Out of shell: Put baking sheet with nuts into a cold oven set to 400°F, keep nose peeled for the above scent. The shelled nuts will also take on a toasted color between “healthy tan” and “Robert Redford’s face”. In both shelled and unshelled cases, the cooking profile of the nuts is much closer to fish (annoyingly thin spike with one side “raw to underdone”, and the other side “overdone to inedible”) than anything else.
To make the pesto:
Quarter the Kumatoes, toss them into a blender, and set it to blend (middle setting on the upper row of most blenders with two rows of buttons)
Toss in the roasted Brazil nuts while the blender’s running
Microplane 2-3 garlic cloves into the mixture (keep that blender going), taste for balance and adjust to your liking. From here on out, you should have the blender going the whole time, and taste and adjust after each additional ingredient.
Drizzle in the oil
Add in a little of the cheese
Squeeze in the lemon juice (and a bit of the zest, if you like)
Crack some peppercorns into the mix, taste, then add a little bit of salt if you think it’s needed
Once you think the pesto’s done, put it in the fridge for at least 6 hours (or as long as overnight), to allow the flavors to fully incorporate.
Slather onto literally everything. I’m not joking, this stuff even goes well with chocolate cake!
Dammit, I forgot the purple Thai basil! Ok, while you’re blending the nuts and tomatoes, toss in some leaves of purple Thai basil. It has to be purple Thai basil, because that has the sharpest, most intense flavor.
Roated Brazil nut pesto
You will need:
Brazil nuts (I’ll tell you how to roast them yourself)
Kumato tomatoes
Garlic
Extra Virgin olive oil
Good quality Parmigiano Reggiano (or Grana Padano)
1 lemon for juice (you can also add in a bit of the zest)
Salt
Fresh cracked pepper
Blender
Microplane
To roast the nuts:
In-Shell: Preheat oven to 400°F
Spread unshelled nuts on a baking sheet in a single layer, with at least ~1.5cm between each nut
Roast until shells darken, and the nuts start to smell like a heavily marbled, aged steak
Take them out to cool, and don’t make the pesto the same day you roast the nuts
Out of shell: Put baking sheet with nuts into a cold oven set to 400°F, keep nose peeled for the above scent. The shelled nuts will also take on a toasted color between “healthy tan” and “Robert Redford’s face”. In both shelled and unshelled cases, the cooking profile of the nuts is much closer to fish (annoyingly thin spike with one side “raw to underdone”, and the other side “overdone to inedible”) than anything else.
To make the pesto:
Quarter the Kumatoes, toss them into a blender, and set it to blend (middle setting on the upper row of most blenders with two rows of buttons)
Toss in the roasted Brazil nuts while the blender’s running
Microplane 2-3 garlic cloves into the mixture (keep that blender going), taste for balance and adjust to your liking. From here on out, you should have the blender going the whole time, and taste and adjust after each additional ingredient.
Drizzle in the oil
Add in a little of the cheese
Squeeze in the lemon juice (and a bit of the zest, if you like)
Crack some peppercorns into the mix, taste, then add a little bit of salt if you think it’s needed
Once you think the pesto’s done, put it in the fridge for at least 6 hours (or as long as overnight), to allow the flavors to fully incorporate.
Slather onto literally everything. I’m not joking, this stuff even goes well with chocolate cake!
Dammit, I forgot the purple Thai basil! Ok, while you’re blending the nuts and tomatoes, toss in some leaves of purple Thai basil. It has to be purple Thai basil, because that has the sharpest, most intense flavor.