Pesto Parmesan Pastry Straws - My Fussy Eater | Easy Family Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Which cheese is best for pesto? ›

Most pesto recipes call for Parmesan cheese; we often use Romano which has a stronger flavor. Basil pesto recipes often call for pine nuts, but you can easily substitute walnuts.

For funk: use nutritional yeast

As a vegan ingredient darling and the prototypical cheese flavor alternative, nutritional yeast is a classic Parmesan substitute when making a dairy-free pesto.

Add a pinch of salt if the basil tastes too bitter or the pesto needs more zing. Add more Parmesan if you'd like a creamier/cheesier pesto. If desired, you can thin out the pesto with more olive oil.

Anything sugary will work: granulated white sugar, honey, fruit juices, even sweet dessert wines. Acid in the form of vinegar or citrus juices can make a pesto taste less bitter and could even enhance the flavour of the sauce at the same time.

When to Use Shredded vs. Grated Cheese. If a recipe calls for shredded or grated cheese, you're fine using cheese that you grate yourself at home or store-bought shredded cheese. That is, unless the recipe specifies freshly grated, then you should grate the cheese yourself.

Basil oil

The quickest and easiest substitute for pesto is to make a simple herb oil by finely chopping a bunch of basil leaves and stirring in enough extra virgin olive oil to give you a chunky paste.

Traditional pesto is a blend of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, extra-virgin olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. With a food processor, it comes together in just a few steps: Pulse the nuts, lemon juice, and garlic in the food processor until they're finely chopped. Add the basil and pulse again.

I toasted the almonds, grated the Gouda, packed everything down in a blender (a food processor would make a far easier job of it) and coaxed it around with olive oil. A couple cloves of garlic and a pinch of salt, and yowzah – now I understand why people make this stuff from scratch.

Italian Tradition

It can be mixed into tomato sauce to enhance the flavor of pasta dishes or used with fish fillets to make them more appetizing. There are other versions of pesto with variations in the ingredients, but these are not part of the Ligurian tradition.

The closest cheese substitutes for parmesan are Grana Padano, Asiago, and Pecorino Romano. Both Grana Padano and Asiago share parmesan's nutty flavor, and Pecorino Romano has a similar texture to parmesan.

What is the name of the pesto cheese? ›

Pesto Genovese is made from basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese.