Pesto is a traditional pasta sauce, but it is also a delicious sauce for grilled vegetables and chicken, salads, and pizzas, and a perfect final flavoring to a bean and vegetable soup.

Ingredients

　　1 or 2 small garlic cloves

　　Salt

　　1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts, lightly toasted

　　1 bunch basil (1 cup leaves)

　　1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

　　About 1/2 cup olive oil

　　Peel and slice the garlic and put it in a large mortar. (You may want to take out some of the garlic and add it later if more is needed after tasting. The garlic flavor should not overwhelm the perfume of the basil.) Add a pinch of salt and the nuts, and pound the mixture to a paste. Add the basil leaves, and continue pounding and grinding the leaves until they are somewhat smooth. Work in the cheese and the oil. Add more or less oil depending on the thickness desired. Taste and add more salt if needed.

　　Cooks' Note

　　Italian parsley or rocket can be substituted for the basil, with or without the cheese.

　　In the Green Kitchen by Alice Waters. Copyright © 2010. Published by Clarkson Potter. All Rights Reserved.Named the most influential figure in the past 30 years of the American kitchen by Gourmet magazine, ALICE WATERS is the owner of Chez Panisse restaurant and the author of nine cookbooks.