Homemade pesto - it doesn't work

[payaklw]

Is it just me or is there no way to make pesto that is edible at home? I have tried several times recently and it never turns out like the pesto you buy in a jar - it's never the right taste or texture no matter what I do. I am clearly missing something.

Also wanted to try and make my own hummus but I'm feeling life's too short now given my pesto failures

AIBU - yes you can make edible pesto at home which is better than supermarket option

YANBU - let's just cut my losses and buy ready-made

Cookie and Kate hummus recipe is next level. You need to boil the chickpeas in bread soda for ten minutes. Makes a big difference. You’ll never buy it again after making it.

right, I make home made pesto and I agree it’s delicious and easy but cheaper? The supermarket own jars are usually less than £1 and I use a substantial amount of basil in mine, much more than my greenhouse basil plants could ever contend with. It’s significantly not cheaper for me 😂

Adding a dash of honey to pesto has been a game-changer for me.

I made some today for the first time in ages. It took far too long due to my dodgy old blender and used sooo much basil, but tasted great. I went for walnuts as I already had some and pinenuts are just so expensive.

https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/basil-and-walnut-pesto.html

My pesto is normally really good but I made two batches tonight and I had to throw them away as they both had a really weird bitter aftertaste.

Its June, garlic has started to try and flower. That slightly green bit, trying to grown out the topside of a clove, is fecking bitter.

After visiting Genova over Easter, I'm ruined for inferior pesto for life.
(and if MN had a competition for Most Pretentious Middle Class Comment of the Day I'd be up on that podium like a shot wouldn't I 😆) One day I had focaccia with pesto for breakfast, pesto lasagne for lunch, and more pesto focaccia for tea.

At home I stick to a massive wild garlic pesto making session once a year (then I freeze it). I use cashew nuts.

The secret to good houmous is very soft chick peas (the supermarket ones are a bit hard, the ones from ethnic shops are a bit better, or better still cook your own, so then you can put a bit of the warm cooking water in) . It's supposed to be quite smooth and runny. Keep tasting it to get the balance of garlic, lemon juice and tahini right- and I'm convinced that the secret to houmous tasting "just like shop bought" is loads of salt!

Oooh my home pesto is awesome if I do say so myself. It’s a forgiving recipe as long as you follow the general principles of basil/some kind of leaves, any nuts, garlic, lemon, cheese, oil. Hummus I feel exactly the same though, I’ve never been able to get it right.

I make amazing homemade pesto. Far better than anything I could buy.

Home-made houmous is a million times nicer if you can be bothered to use dried chickpeas instead of tinned.

My homemade hummus (made with tinned, non-shelled chickpeas) is fantastic.

Thanks for starting this thread OP, it's been really useful!

Incredibly timely thread, I don’t make pesto but want to. I make a dish of hummus most days and have recently converted a couple of friends to making instead of buying it. I use peanut butter for hummus half the time.

Homemade mayonnaise and hollandaise are game changers. The latter is a rare treat as it uses a whole pack of butter but every now and then it’s a delight.

Homemade hummus is nothing like shop bought so I'll always buy that, but I make a version from butter beans which is nice as an alternative.

For hummus I use any tinned white beans so it’s not very authentic but it’s cheap, healthy and we often have a plate of it with pittas and carrot and cucumber sticks, it’s a family favourite. Cannelloni make for a softer end result.

I made pesto yesterday and it was great. Chuck basil, pine nuts and olive oil in blender and blend until pesto texture. That’s it! Can’t go wrong. Jar pesto is too bland imo. In homemade the fresh basil taste comes through more and I use good olive oil so you have the fruity flavour of that as well.

Hummus - Chuck chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and some ice cubes in blender and blend until preferred texture. I often put too much tahini in though so do taste for the ratios. I did that last week but covered it up by adding zaatar!

I often use fava beans to make almost hummus
https://hodmedods.co.uk/blogs/recipes/smoked-quinoa-crackers-with-caramelised-onion-hummus

I think the stuff in jars is horrible! Sainsburys fresh pesto is okay but it wasn’t in stock last time I was in the shop. DH didn’t like the one from Tesco. So I’m stuck making it.

I make pesto in a blender - some lumps of parmesan, two supermarket pots of basil cut off below the leaves, coupla of spoonfuls of almond flour, enough oil to make a paste. Easy.

What is tricky is dosing the garlic and salt right - not too much ( especially if children eating it) but you need some. And it gets much better either time. Worth making a day in advance.

It’s mainly cheaper because I don’t add Parmesan (that can go on later if I have it) and I use whatever nuts or seeds I already have. Any work! I never use pine nuts, really. The Basil I successfully grow from supermarket pots by splitting them up. I often can’t grow it fast enough, so I definitely end up buying it a lot.

I haven’t seen jars for under £1 though, so I’m probably looking in the wrong places for the prices!

(And I probably spend more than £1 on Basil alone, so you’re right - if you can get jars that cheap, I’m probably not saving! Still prefer the taste of homemade though. And at least I know what’s in it.)

Homemade pesto is infinitely superior imo.

What are you doing? You can use a pestle and motor or food processor? You need a lot of basil and the some more , toast the garlic and pinenuts first in a pan, decently olive oil, parmesan and salt

50g basil
100g pine nuts
50g parmesan
2 cloves garlic - I like to fry them gently beforehand
5 tablespoons olive oil
up to 100ml of water but don’t add it all at once, just as you need it

Recommend using a food processor. Swap pine nuts for almonds or cashews or walnuts or frankly whatever you’ve got. I put a handful of spinach in today because I hadn’t enough basil. But don’t swap the cheese for anything else.

I haven’t bought shop-bought pesto for over 10 years, this is my go-to recipe and everyone loves it.

Really surprised to read this! I made home made pesto last week for the first time in my life and was shocked at how easy it was and how delicious it tasted! Literally blitz the ingredients in a food processor and bobs your uncle. Not cheap though-4 quid for a bag of pine nuts in Tesco!
Winder if some of your ingredients were off op, garlic a bit bitter or crappy olive oil?

@PiratePetespajamas interesting! Do almonds change the flavour much when substituted for pine nuts? Feel like they have quite a strong flavour but would love a slightly cheaper alternative.