Recipe Archives->Sauces->Pistou 01

Pistou (French basil sauce)

Put 4 garlic cloves into a mortar and pound to a paste with a
pestle.  Tear the 1-2 oz of basil leaves into pieces and add a few
at a time to the mortar.  Continue to pound until you have a dark
green paste.  Add 4 ounces of hard cheese, one 'matchstick' slice
at a time, and pound until the mixture has the consistency of soft
butter.  Gradually beat in 4-5 tablespoons of olive oil, until the
suace is like a coarse mayonnaise.

Notes: Pistou can be added to soup; eaten with spaghetti; used over
poached fish.  Pistou also freezes well.

The cheese should be a hard cheese; Parmesan and gruyere are
suggested with a note that Roquefort, dry Edam, and mature Cheddar
also work.  (Grating instead of cutting into sticks supposedly
alters the flavor.)

Printable version: pistou01.txt.