Presto!

Few things taste of summer quite like classic pesto: that bright, fresh basil, the tang of good cheese, the earthiness of nuts and the spice of raw garlic. Too often, though, the garlic overpowers the other ingredients and, even worse, stays with you well into the next meal. To combat this problem, some recipes suggest blanching the basil leaves to boost their flavor and parboiling the garlic to dull it, two labor- and heat-intensive steps that defeat the spirit of the dish. After all, this is not lasagna; as with all good summer dishes, pesto is meant to be simple to prepare, something to throw together straight out of the garden, with your eyes closed and your oven turned off.

However, because it is critical to toast the pine nuts -- they are bitter unless toasted and have none of the sweetness that makes them such a distinctive and critical component of this recipe -- I will concede that one pan and one burner can be used to prepare pesto. Therefore, I was willing to try this solution, from Cooks Illustrated's The New Best New Recipe: pan-roast the garlic in the same skillet used to toast the pine nuts. The result? Slightly mellower garlic and a classic pesto flavor, without the harsh aftertaste and with only one skillet to clean. Presto!

This pesto is delicious on pasta -- linguine or fusilli hold the sauce beautifully -- but is equally tasty spread straight onto still-warm-from-the-vine tomatoes or good, crusty bread. Any leftovers will keep for a few days in the fridge, especially if you press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pesto.

Basil Pesto
1/4 cup pine nuts (walnuts work nicely, too)
3 medium garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves (optional -- this is mostly to boost the green color)
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt

Toast the nuts in a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium heat for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan frequently, until nuts are golden and fragrant. Be careful: they burn suddenly and disastrously. Tip the nuts into the bowl of a food processor to cool.

To the same skillet, add the garlic and toast for about 7 minutes, shaking the pan frequently, until garlic is slightly darkened and fragrant. (For an even mellower flavor, leave the garlic in for a few extra minutes, and the texture will start to be more like roasted garlic, as will the taste.) Let the garlic cool, and then peel it and dump it into the food processor.

Wash and spin the basil leaves (and parsley if using). Make sure they are fairly dry. Dump the dried leaves into a plastic zipper-lock bag, and whack the basil until it is slightly bruised, using a rolling pin, meat pounder or other blunt object. This is kind of fun, depending on the kind of day you have had.

Add the bruised leaves, oil and salt to the food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and stir in the cheese. Season to taste with salt.

If you'll be adding this to pasta, this makes about 3/4 cup which should cover about 1 pound of pasta. Cook the pasta in boiling, well-salted water. Drain al dente pasta, saving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Thin pesto with about 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water before tossing it with the pasta. Add more water if needed. At the table, pass more freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a large bowl of fresh, diced tomatoes.