This week CONOR POPEreviews pesto sauce
DIY option €13.30 for 300g, €44.33 per kg
The DIY option is always cheaper, right? Not in this case. It might cost you less to make, but that’s only if you also grow the basil yourself. If you’ve to buy bags of it, you’ll pay a lot more. The leaves cost €5, the pine nuts were €3, the same price as the parmesan. The garlic was 30 cent and the olive oil cost €2. While the tearing, grating, crushing, blitzing and cleaning-up was free, it took up a lot of our time – which wasn’t. Eventually, we got to eat our pesto and while it was nice (modesty forbids us from saying it was amazing, even though it totally was), we’re not entirely convinced it was worth the effort.
Verdict: Um, brilliant? ***
Fallon & Byrne Basil Pesto €4.25 for 220g, €19.31 per kg
It was definitely worth the effort to call into Fallon Byrne. The Dublin deli is not the cheapest place in the world but we love it for its mix of high-end and slightly bonkers stock. We were a little cross that, after all the work involved in making our own pesto, this rivalled – and probably trumped – our homemade effort in terms of freshness and flavour, with none of the washing-up. And it was half the price. It is made with good olive oil so is not greasy and the basil, parmesan, garlic and olive flavours all complemented each other beautifully. Next time, we’re going to buy this and pretend we made it ourselves.
Verdict: Better than homemade *****
The Happy Pear Lovely Basil Pesto €5 for 200g €25 per kg
This pesto, which hails from a highly regarded market/restaurant in Greystones, Co Wicklow, is very good but maybe struggled a little when compared with the Fallon Byrne pesto, mostly because it is made with sunflower oil and cashew nuts rather than olive oil and pine nuts so was just a little greasier than it might have been. That is not to say it is bad. It is far from bad and has an undeniably pleasant and very cheesy kick. The garlic, while subtle, is easy to detect and it did not taste too salty.
Verdict: Lovely ****
Pasta Milano Fresh Basil Pesto €2.99 for 250ml, €11.96 per kg
This is the cheapest of the pestos reviewed and the only one that you would probably manage to get two meals out of. It wasn’t really to our taste, however. There is an undeniable hint of basil and garlic in the mix but it is the salt that ultimately triumphs. It is made with sunflower oil which made it a little too greasy for our tastes. It has a slightly grainy texture and an ingredient list which was a whole lot longer than the competition – something which we did not necessarily think was to its credit.
Verdict: Okay ***
