Whether you opt to use it as a dip or incorporate it into your main meals, pesto is a tasty ingredient that will add a gorgeous, basil flavour to any dish. Originating as a sauce in Genoa, Italy, it has become a much-loved food staple in many of our households.
The versatility of pesto makes it a store-cupboard essential. You can use it to stuff meat, glaze fish or mix into a salad for added flavour. You can also use it as a sauce on pasta or risotto for a quick and easy meal.
Whilst most of us will opt for a pre-made pesto from the supermarket, it's actually really quick and easy to make your own! Just follow our video tutorial or handy three-step guide to find out how...
How to make pesto
- Roast pine nuts in a small pan over a medium heat until golden. Shake pan occasionally to stop them burning, and to toast evenly. Set aside to cool completely.
- Food processors help make pesto quickly and easily. Put basil in bowl with cooled pine nuts, garlic and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Whiz to a paste, then continue to whiz whilst slowly drizzling in oil until smooth and emulsified.
Top-rated pan sets
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An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
