Garlic pesto is a savory Italian sauce prepared by blending garlic with other ingredients often consisting of pine nuts, parmesan cheese, basil, olive oil, and seasonings. Young shoots of garlic or wild garlic leaves can also be used to prepare garlic based pesto. Garlic can be either used in the raw form or the roasted form in the sauce. Garlic based pesto is a perfect accompaniment to pasta dishes.
Popular Garlic Pesto Recipes
A few popular garlic based pesto recipes have been discussed below:
- Roasted garlic based pesto- almonds and garlic are roasted in oven before processing them along with basil, olive oil, lemon juice, pepper, and salt. Garlic is seasoned with salt and pepper, drizzled with olive oil, packed in aluminum foil and then roasted in oven. Sun dried tomatoes, leafy greens, and roasted bell peppers can also be added for enhanced flavor and savor. A recipe variant suggests using walnut oil instead of olive oil.
- Green garlic pesto- the garlic pesto recipe for this Italian sauce suggests making use of young and green colored garlic shoots to prepare a flavorful pesto sauce. Finely chopped and washed green garlic (with roots discarded) are sautéed in olive oil and seasoned with salt. Thereafter, it is processed together in a food processor or blender along with chopped pine nuts, olive, oil, and cheese. Salt is added as per taste. Pecorino cheese or any other hard cheese can be used in the pesto.
- Garlic and basil pesto- this pesto is a blend of chopped garlic, chopped pine nuts, basil, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and salt.
- Wild garlic leaves pesto- The garlic pesto recipe for this dish involves the use of wild garlic leaves to prepare the pesto sauce. The leaves are processed in a food processor along with almonds, parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper to prepare the sauce.
Storage Information
Garlic based pesto can be stored in frozen form for upto two months. It can be stored in refrigerator for about three days.
Serving Suggestions
Garlic based pesto goes well along with pastas and crudités. It also pairs well with grilled meats.
Nutrition Facts about Garlic Based Pesto
46 g of garlic pesto, made with olive oil, provides around 250 calories, obtained from 24 g of fat, 10 mg of cholesterol, 440 mg of sodium, 4 g of carbohydrates, and 5 g of protein.
