Basil Pesto

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Appears in Cook's Illustrated July/August 1996

To balance the flavors, bruise the basil and toast the garlic.

SERVES Makes 3/4 cup, enough for 1 pound of pasta

TIME 25 minutes

Italian Name: Pesto alla genovese

Basil Pesto

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Our goal in developing our pesto recipe was to heighten the basil and subdue the garlic flavors so that each major element balanced the other. We started with plenty of fresh basil, pounded to bruise it and release flavorful oils. To tame t...

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