It’s hard to beat the flavour of freshly made pesto – it’s worlds apart from the bottled varieties. For a classic pesto, only pine nuts, basil, garlic, cheese and oil are used; the pesto in this recipe is called matto, or crazy, because of its unorthodox ingredients. Pesto will keep for a day or two in the fridge, but it’s best used straight from the processor before the basil discolours.
Ingredients
Pesto matto
Method
1.For pesto matto, process nuts, herbs, anchovies and garlic until coarsely chopped. Add cheeses and, with motor running, gradually add oil to combine. Add lemon rind and juice and pulse to combine, then season to taste and set aside.
2.Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add linguine and cook over high heat until al dente (8-10 minutes). Drain (reserve 60ml cooking water) and return pasta and water to pan. Add pesto and toss to combine, then serve hot, scattered with extra nuts, basil leaves and chilli flakes, drizzled with a little extra oil, if desired.
