Pesto and Rigattoni

My mom bought a bunch of basil leaves at the flea market on Saturday. What should I do with a bunch of basil??? I thought of making pesto sauce. I found this recipe on this blog. When I was reading through the ingredients, I noticed the recipe asks for pistachio nuts. Unfortunately, I dont have any pistachio nuts, so I substituted. Its what I always do. I use pecan nuts. It taste good!!! Traditionally, pesto sauce asks for pine nuts instead of pistachio. Since substitution is welcome in home kitchens, why not substitute pecan nuts for pistachio nuts, which was substituted instead of pine nuts??? I love the freedom of substituting to make something out of anything. Hey, on a slow, gloomy, late summer, fall-like weather in Central Valley, anything is possible even pesto with pecan and rigattoni pasta. BTW, rigattoni is also substituted for long pasta.

The joy of substitution!!!

Basil and Pecan Pesto adapted from Desert Candy.

1 large clove garlic or 2 small
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup packed basil leaves washed
3 tablespoons roughly-chopped pecan
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
about half a lemon's worth of fresh lemon zest
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1. In a food processor, chop pecan nuts and set aside. In the same food processor, with the motor running, puree the garlic and salt. Add basil leaves the pecan nuts and process into a paste. Add lemon zest and cheese. To store, pack into a container with a lid. Leave a space for the lip of the container and top with olive oil.

So easy...home made pesto sauce.