Pounding Pesto

Culinary school is fantastico! There is so much action at the French Culinary Institute (which is now known as the International Culinary Center, by the way). This week we had The Pesto Champion from Italy demonstrate the art of making pesto. There are three important dimensions to pesto and they are flavor, texture, and color. 

Balance of flavors means one ingredient cannot overwhelm the other. The texture should be buttery and smooth and the color vibrant green.  Using a mortar and pestle is essential in obtaining the right texture without brutalizing the basil. It gently extracts the essential oils from the garlic, pine nuts, and basil without sacrificing color and flavor. Also, pesto is the verb to pound in Italian, tradition calls for physical labor with this dish (so green!). The following are the traditional ingredients in a pesto: basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmigiano reggiano, pecorino cheese, olive oil, and salt.  

After the demonstration the chefs asked for four volunteers to partake in a little pesto making competition. I immediately jumped to the challenge. I was pounding that pesto to great places. Garlic, pine nuts, and basil splattering all over my face but I didn’t care. It was about the pesto, not about me. I had to impress the pesto world champion after all!

Ten minutes later and times up! The judges, including the pesto champ, tasted all the pestos, deliberated, and announced the winner. How do you think I did? I’ll tell you… I pounded the competition like I pounded that pesto. First place baby! 

Chef Jessica to the left, the pesto champ to the right, and the other competitors. 

That was fun, I like competition!

Today I got my knife kit. Check it out! I feel so empowered and complete with this.

....and that’s only one of three compartments full of kitchen gadgets.

Last thing I want to share with you today is my curriculum for the next few months.

 LOVE LOVE LOVE