This Pesto is So Good, I Started Growing My Own Basil to Make It
I’ve been adding pesto to my meals since high school. A basic béchamel, some store-bought pesto and whatever pasta shape was in the kitchen was enough to make a quick and easy meal in under 10 minutes. Unfortunately, store-bought just isn’t cutting it for me anymore, but I still crave the efficiency of those college-era meals.
Enter: the best pesto I’ve ever had in my life. Featured in our latest cookbook, “Milk Street Backroads Italy,” our recipe for Gnocchi with Pesto alla Genovese, is not only fast, fresh and delectable, I've sworn off pre-made pesto. It’s become such a regularly requested favorite in my house that I’ve even started growing basil to meet the growing demand. Now I’m making pesto every week to combat the flourishing forest invading my home.
Which pasta pairs best with pesto?
Put down the penne, orecchiette, and fusilli.
You can use any pasta shape you’d like, but this recipe is amazing with gnocchi. Bite-sized, pillowy dumplings smothered in fresh pesto is a winning combination, and our kitchen team thought so too. That’s why they’ve recommended not one, not two, but three separate gnocchi recipes to accompany this sauce, one of which is made extra speedy with instant potato flakes. They’ve also given their stamp of approval for store-bought gnocchi, so even if you’re gluten-free like me, you don’t have to go without (or worry about the mess of homemade pasta).
How to choose the right cheese for pesto
If you’re struggling to find pecorino Sardo, manchego can be swapped in, but if you’re dealing with picky eaters (or all you have is parmesan), no worries. Just double up on parmesan, it’ll still be a crowd pleaser.
Other than that, it’s pretty straightforward! In order to guarantee the best consistency and texture, Milk Street’s Catherine Smart and Christopher Kimball go over the importance of processing everything in the correct order in our episode, “Tuesday Night Italian.”
You’ll want to process the cheeses first, and set them aside, before mixing the pine nuts, garlic and salt together. (If you’d like to make things extra simple you can use a mini food chopper, instead of a food processor, as long as you make sure it in’t overfilled.) We recommend mixing the garlic and pine nuts separately, so the garlic can be thoroughly broken down, without over-processing the basil. After that, add the cheese back in with half the oil to blend. Finish with the basil and remaining oil.
Be sure to save some of the water after the gnocchi is done cooking. The starchy pasta water will help the pesto cling to the gnocchi. (If you have leftovers, save a little pasta water to loosen the sauce when re-heating.)
To help the gnocchi last a bit longer, and to keep everyone from inhaling it all in two seconds, I typically serve it alongside air fried chicken, but that’s by no means a requirement— it’s perfect all on its own, just be prepared to fight over the last bowl.
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Quin Kibler
Quin Kibler lives in Philadelphia, PA, and is Milk Street's Digital Production Coordinator. Outside of work, he can be found testing out new recipes, perusing the city, and taking care of his two rowdy cats.
