Pesto and Pistou

Where is the Pistou part of this recipe? My French mother-in-law taught me to make pistou to put in hot fresh vegetable soup in the summer. It starts by crushing the basil and garlic in the mortar with some salt and drizzling in a little olive oil. Then you add in an egg yolk and keep grinding, slowly adding more olive oil so that it is like a green mayonnaise. Grinding the basil and garlic in the egg and oil releases their flavors more than a microblender does, since it really crushes them.

So easy to make using an immersion blender! And so much quicker to clean as compared to a food processor or regular blender. I added the juice of a fresh lemon and half a cup of fresh parsley since I have an abundance in my garden. I think this brightens the flavor.

Doubled the recipe with 2 bunches of basil from farmers market to yield one pint

Tasty, but beware: this recipe yields a very small amount. Make sure to scale everything up by at least 4 times.

Pistou and pesto are not the same thing. Traditionally, pistou does not have cheese nor pine nuts. Recipes in the US don't seem to recognize the important difference. "Pistou (Provençal: pisto (classical) or pistou (Mistralian), pronounced [ˈpistu]), or pistou sauce, is a Provençal cold sauce made from cloves of garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil. It is somewhat similar to the Ligurian sauce pesto, although it lacks pine nuts. Some modern versions of the recipe include grated parmesan, pecorin

I haven't tried the handheld blender, but I used my mini food processor and it worked like a charm. Made pistou last night and it turned out great - the proportions of this recipe are just right.

Ditch the whole wheat!!

Used a single serve blender which worked well then folded in the cheese. Used walnuts instead of pine nuts. Added lemon zest as I always do to pesto and it was perfect.

Last weekend I picked armfuls of the basil in my garden, and made pesto to freeze for winter. I only combine olive oil, garlic and basil when freezing pesto, and use my hand held blender. I store in glass jars. I add Parmigiano Regianno and pine nuts and blend after I have thawed the basil and olive oil if making pesto) - it keeps better in the freezer. It also has the added benefit that I can make pistou with my frozen basil, garlic & olive oil, or pesto by adding cheese and pine nuts.

I made this without nuts because of allergy to them. It turned out great, & is now a family favorite! I like to use the mini-food-processor.

I tried the hand blender with the pint jar. Made one batch that way and became very frustrated with the progress. The blender fit the jar closely and created suction which resulted in mini-explosions of pesto all over the counter and me. Wasted a log, took far longer than the food processor, and the hand blender required hand washing. I’m going back to the food processor.

This worked perfectly with my immersion blender - much easier than a food processor! Good recipe - tastes great!

Sounds like a good recipe, but what I wanted to thank you for was the weight of the basil. I am always putting too much in and the taste is overwhelming. This makes it easy!

My daughter makes a wholly inauthentic and most extraordinary pesto from cilantro, garlic and pecans. Oh, dear, it's delicious! Sometimes she adds parmesan but you won't miss it if it's left out.

I like Pesto with a bit of local honey, blanched almonds and a splash of lemon. Sometimes I use half basil half parsley. The lemon keeps the vibrant green of the basil and adds brightness. The honey balances the saltiness of the cheese. The almonds are more neutral in flavor so the basil shines through. I always make Pesto in my mini food processor. 1,2,3 easy.