After grinding up a batch of peanut butter, my eyes came to rest on a package of pine nuts that I had left on the counter from a recent trip to the grocery store. Two of the ingredients that I like in my pesto are pine nuts and hard Italian cheese (usually Pecorino Romano). I never add too much of either as the oils from both are strong but it's the oil part that got me thinking.

Of the thousands of times I made pesto, I followed one basic method: grind a huge double handful of basil with a little garlic, a small handful of pine nuts and cheese. Then I'd add the oil to really extend it. It was seasoned and I was ready to devour. But something about the grinding of peanut butter that day got me going on dealing with the pine nuts and cheese first and using the same technique as with the peanut butter. I began to think of the flexibility I could have by starting with the nut/cheese base for a basil "paste" than following the usual pesto route.

metric boatload of basil leaves (photo by wm. christman)

So, I ground the usual amount of pine nuts into a butter, added some grated cheese to extend the butter and got the whole mixture nice and smooth. Although garlic in pesto is classic, I don't really like too much in mine but I added some anyway as it does round out the taste. All that was left was to pack a metric boatload of basil leaves into the food processor (that's what you see above - the basil packed in after the main pine nut, cheese, garlic grind. What was interesting was that the smooth paste started to suck the basil leaves down without assistance (I usually have to prod the leaves down every 10 seconds or so until they "take" in the blades of the machine) and they incorporated very quickly. What was left was a thick and bright green basil paste with the oil from the nuts and cheese holding it together.

mmmm, pasty (photo by wm. christman)

At this point, I seasoned it but only added a tablespoon of olive oil, pulsing the processor a time or two, to it to keep the paste consistency. As an experiment, I took half of it out and threw it into the fridge to see how it would fare for a day or two. Pesto tends to go dark pretty quickly but since this was more paste than liquid and mostly basil, I thought it might hold it's color longer. I took the rest out of the processor and stirred in some olive oil until it was suitable for saucing pasta. The result was a brighter tasting version of pesto with the olive oil acting as a thinner as opposed to a major flavor. A few days later and to my surprise, the experimental portion of the basil paste was brighter green than pesto made the previous way. I also stirred in some olive oil to make a medium thick sauce and used it on some grilled sole. It really stayed fresher and tastier for longer. The paste consistency allowed me to control the thickness which gives you flexibility that suits the dish you're creating.

Now not only does fresh basil sit on the kitchen counter on a regular basis but its pasty counterpart sits in the fridge waiting for the next pesto craving. And yes, I still eat it from a spoon on occasion as I do with my fresh peanut butter. It's hard to resist...