Bethany Jean Clement The Seattle Times Published 9:38 p.m. UTC Aug 8, 2018 You haven’t forgotten about pesto, have you? This is a public service announcement. I made pasta with pesto for guests recently, and they loved it. As in, could not stop talking about how good it was while they ate it as fast as they could and then asked for more. The happiness-to-effort ratio was approximately 1,000,000 to 1. I felt like I tied my shoes successfully and was given a Nobel Prize. Then I made some pesto the other afternoon — it takes about 10 minutes — and boiled some noodles at 9 p.m., then ate pesto pasta while watching “Glow.” I kept thinking, “This is so good” (the pesto pasta, though the new season of “Glow” is good, too, especially episode 8). Happiness-to-effort ratio: also off the charts. Pesto is simple, pure green gloriousness. The taste of this magic sauce combines the peppery freshness of basil, the tingle of raw garlic, the luxuriousness of olive oil, the savory-umami of Parmesan and the earthiness of pine nuts. Pesto may, of course, be messed with — parsley instead of basil, or substitute hazelnuts or almonds, or try a goat-cheese or ricotta version — but the classic version is classic for a reason. It’s light but rich, bright but smooth, verdant and lush. Pesto pasta is perfect. Goddess of Italian cooking Marcella Hazan, never wanting for an authoritative proclamation, said that pesto has “just one great role: to be… [Read full story]
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