Can You Make Pesto In A Thermomix?
Short answer
Although the results are unlikely to earn you a Michelin star, Thermomix offers a fast and convenient way to make pesto at home.
Long answer
The best homemade pesto is made using a pestle and mortar. However, this old-fashioned method will take you three or four times as long as using a Thermomix, which is precious time that busy households cannot afford.
In truth, food processors, countertop blenders, and stick blenders can all achieve very similar results to a Thermomix pesto. The main problem with using electric gadgets is that they generate heat, the enemy of fresh pesto. As soon as you apply heat, you start destroying all those wonderful fresh flavours and risk oxidising the basil, turning it grey in the process.
Our recipe for Thermomix pesto is the same as the official one. Still, by using particular time and speed functions, we keep the time the pesto is processed to an absolute minimum to mitigate heat damage. Some people, including the Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura, swear by adding an ice cube to offset the heat. We don't like adding water to our pesto, but we can't deny that his ice cube trick works a treat.
Pro tip
Most Thermomix pesto recipes advise processing the olive oil along with all the other ingredients. This is a bad idea because the blade's crude action shears the oil into microscopic droplets, turning your pesto bitter. We recommend adding the oil by hand at the end to avoid this.
Thermomix pesto recipe (six servings)
| Ingredient | Quantity (g) |
| Olive oil | 80 |
| Basil | 80 |
| Parmesan | 50 |
| Pine nuts | 30 |
| Garlic | 1 clove |
| Salt | pinch |
Method
Many recipes recommend toasting the pine nuts to intensify their flavour. We have meticulously designed our recipe so that all ingredients work in harmony with each other. However, go for it if you like the additional nuttiness that toasting them brings.
Coarsely grate the Parmesan and add it to your Thermomix. Blend for 7 seconds on speed 9.
Add the garlic clove and blend for 5 seconds at speed 9.
Add the basil, pine nuts, and salt, and blend for 10 seconds at speed 7.
Scrape down the bowl and blend for 5 seconds at speed 7.
Transfer the sauce to a mixing bowl and stream in the olive oil, stirring by hand to combine.
Use immediately or store in the fridge, where it will last up to five days.