This is a sauce to have on hand at all times. It keeps well in the refrigerator for at least a week if you film the top of it with olive oil (and refilm after you have dipped into it and taken some from the jar), and it keeps its bloom for a couple of months frozen. It’s a good idea to freeze it in an ice tray, and then store the cubes in plastic storage bags. That way, you easily can get at just the amount you need.

　　

Ingredients

3 fat garlic cloves

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　4 cups loosely packed basil leaves

　　2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

　　1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little more to film the top

　　

Step 1

I like to smash the garlic, slip off the peels, and mash the cloves with salt with a mortar and pestle. I scrape that out into a food processor, add the basil and pine nuts, and process to a paste, scraping down the sides. This method seems to mash the garlic more thoroughly, but you can just dump everything into the food processor and let it do the work. Slowly add 1/2 cup of the olive oil, and process until well blended. Transfer the pesto to a small jar, and pour the remaining olive oil on top.

　　

Variations

Step 2

If you are using the pesto as a light sauce to dress cold meats, fish, or poultry, you may want to hold back on the pine nuts. But add them when you want to dress a pasta. For that, all you need is a big pot of salted boiling water and 2 or 3 ounces of spaghetti or other pasta. When the pasta is aldente, drain and toss with about 1/4 cup of pesto and lots of grated Parmesan. Season, of course, to taste.

　　

Step 3

Because mint grows so much more abundantly than basil in northern Vermont, I’ve tried adding mint to my pesto, following Ed Giobbi’s advice, and it gives it a slightly different, pleasant kick. Add about 3/4 cup mint to the above ingredients, and you might include an additional garlic clove.

　　The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones. Copyright © 2009 by Judith Jones. Published by Knopf. All Rights Reserved.Judith Jones is senior editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf. She is the author of The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food and the coauthor with Evan Jones (her late husband) of three books: The Book of Bread; Knead It, Punch It, Bake It!; and The Book of New New England Cookery. She also collaborated with Angus Cameron on The L. L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook, and has contributed to Vogue, Saveur, and Gourmet magazines. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives in New York City and Vermont.