With pine nuts selling at a premium, I chose to replace them with much more affordable hazelnuts in this pesto sauce.

Jessica Webster | AnnArbor.com

One of my favorite flavors of summer is a bright, tangy pesto sauce. I can usually make it from ingredients I already have in my pantry and the bounty of basil blooming in my garden.

Pesto is a perfect, easy, last-minute summer dinner solution. It works as a sandwich condiment, a soup additive or a way to dress up a simple grilled chicken breast. But my favorite way to enjoy pesto is to toss it with pasta and whatever leftover vegetables I have in my fridge.

My basil plants have been prolific, so I went to make my first batch of summer pesto last week. The basic ingredients of a Genovese pesto are basil, olive oil, garlic, parmesan or Romano cheese and pine nuts, also called pignoli. I zipped out to the grocery store to grab the nuts… and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the price.

Maybe I haven’t been paying attention, but I was shocked to see that pine nuts are selling for $23 a pound. I quickly put them back on the shelf and looked for a less-expensive solution. Walnuts are often used in classic Italian pesto sauces (though the sauce would then be called pesto di noce e basilico), and many cooks also substitute cashews for pine nuts. For this recipe, I went for my favorites: hazelnuts, also called filberts.

A note on hazelnuts: if you can find “premium” hazelnuts that have already been skinned, it will save you some time. To toast hazelnuts, toss in a single layer dry skillet over medium heat, stirring regularly for 5-7 minutes, or until they color lightly and start to smell nutty, but before they start to burn. You can also toast them on a rimmed cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 7-10 minutes. Don’t let them overcook. Wrap the nuts in a towel to remove loose skins, rubbing gently, then set aside to cool.

A note on tomatoes: Out of season tomatoes can be pretty nasty. If you're not happy with the flavor and texture of the tomatoes you have available, you can improve the flavor by roasting them. Here's an easy technique from David Lebowitz: Oven Roasted Tomatoes.

This basil pesto recipe makes enough for two pounds of pasta. There’s no point making a small quantity as it keeps in the refrigerator — covered with a thin layer of olive oil and plastic wrap — for a week or more. It also freezes well for several months.

Pasta Caprese with hazelnut pesto

Pesto sauce ingredients (based on a recipe from "The Geometry of Pasta")

• 3 1/2 ounces bunched fresh basil
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 cup Parmigiana-Reggiano or pecorino Romano
• 1 cup lightly toasted and skinned hazelnuts
• 2/3 - 3/4 cups extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
• salt and pepper to taste

Pasta ingredients

• 1 pound dried pasta (I like to use cavatappi)


• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, washed and halved


• 1/2 pound fresh cherry mozzarella (you could also just cube a larger block of mozzarella

Bring 5 quarts of salted water to a boil. Cook your chosen dried pasta according to directions, then drain and set aside. Reserve 1-2 cups of the pasta water to use to thin the pesto sauce.

If you’re planning to serve the pasta hot, drain the cherry mozzarella and set it in the freezer for 10 minutes so that it doesn’t get chewy when it hits the hot pasta.

Pick the basil leaves and wash them gently only if you need to. If you wash them, let them dry naturally, spread out on a clean dishcloth.

Crush the garlic to a paste with a little salt (a mortar and pestle would come in handy for this). Put the cheese, basil, and garlic into a food processor and work to a fine paste.

Add the toasted hazelnuts and continue until they are quite fine but still have some texture.

Add the olive oil, butter, some salt and pepper and pulse. Let the pesto stand for a few minutes before you taste for seasoning. Add more salt or pepper as needed.

Toss the pasta with the pesto sauce, adding the reserved pasta water to thin it out according to your taste. Toss in the tomatoes. If you’re serving the pasta immediately, toss the chilled mozzarella in now, otherwise wait until the pasta has cooled and add the mozzarella just before serving.

Jessica Webster leads the Food & Grocery section for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at JessicaWebster@AnnArbor.com.