An absolute classic recipe enhanced with the sweet, mellow flavours from roasted garlic and creamy mature cheddar cheese, this vibrant and versatile pesto is a constant in our fridge. Stir through pasta, drizzle on pizza, add to some roast new potatoes or grilled chicken and salmon, add to toasted sandwiches, swirl into soup, stir into savoury muffins or use simply as a dip. These are just a few ideas – use your imagination and conjure up flavourful meals and snacks in no time.

How to make Basil and Pine Nut Pesto with Roasted Garlic Confit

Collect all your ingredients together:

Garlic confit:

1 bulb of garlic
½ teaspoon olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
(OR, 1 clove of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped – see notes below)

For the basil pesto:

50g toasted pine nuts
30g parmesan cheese, cubed
20g cheddar cheese, cubed
60g – 70g basil leaves – from 100g packet, stems removed
120ml olive oil (not expensive – mild flavour)
⅛ – ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅛ – ¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon sugar

Garlic Confit:

To make a garlic confit you simply need to roast a whole bulb of garlic in the oven for 40 minutes. You end up with soft, creamy cloves with a rich, mellow, sweet flavour which add depth and complexity to your pesto. Whilst I really recommend this, I also appreciate that you may not want to switch on your oven for 40 minutes just to cook 1 bulb of garlic.

So, you can either replace it with 1 clove of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped and added to the pesto at the same time as the pinenuts or why not cook 2 or 3 bulbs and use the remainder up in other ways?

You could mash it and stir into casseroles, mashed potatoes, spread it on breads, such as bruschetta and/or crostini, or stir through risottos and pasta dishes. The options are endless; just remember this cooking and softening process means you can use much more garlic than when it is raw. A single clove of garlic can often be replaced by a whole bulb of confit – it seems a lot but it is a complex, mellow and gentle addition to any appropriate dish.

You need to slice the top ¼ from a bulb of garlic, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, wrap in foil and cook for 40 minutes in the oven. All you then need to do is squeeze out the cloves (and they should pop out very easily when squeezed) and use them in your pesto. For more information on Garlic Confit, see here.

Make the pesto:

make the garlic confit
toast the pine nuts, either in a frying pan or in the oven – for more information, see here.
pick the basil leaves from the stems, weigh just the leaves and not the stems as well
add the parmesan to the food processor and blitz until they are the size of breadcrumbs
add the cheddar and blitz again
add the pine nuts and and blitz (if using one clove of uncooked garlic, add now)
now add the basil and blitz until broken down.
add the garlic confit, seasoning and half the olive oil and blitz
slowly add the remaining olive oil through the spout as you continue to blitz until the pesto is smooth and fully blended
taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary
transfer to a lidded jar.

Storing Pesto:

In the fridge: pesto needs to be stored, covered and in the fridge. Pour a little olive oil over the top of the pesto before covering. This will provide a protective layer over the pesto and keep it fresher and greener for longer. Each time you use it, add a little more olive oil. This way, you can keep it for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

In the freezer: alternatively, pesto freezes well. Transfer into an ice cube tray, pop the cubes out when frozen, bag and label. Keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Made this recipe?

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