Pesto a la Katerina

.. Or how to make the best of the situation and not get frustrated over not finding the right ingredients at your local store.
Last night I had decided to make pasta with pesto, an idea which had been brweing for a few days, partly because of this post made by Clotilde and partly because I saw a relevant episode of Jamie Oliver's show. I had decided I would like to try "risotto" style pasta, or absorption pasta, as referred to by the the lovely and talented Clotilde in her blog. Jamie's version which combined the wet pasta with homemade pesto convinced me it was time to try it.
Alas, I did not succeed in finding any pine nuts, which you can imagine dampened the mood at first, but since the idea had been brewing for a while, I decided to try it with another kind of nut. Specifically, I chose plain peanuts. A daring choice, and one that didn't go over too well with the fiance (meh, he usually has a weak objection or two when I try something radical, but he never complains when he actually eats the food..).
Anyway! Pesto! Two small pots of fresh, juicy, plumb basil (they sell them by the pot here...), two cloves of garlic, an abundance of olive oil, salt, and in this case, a couple of handfuls of peanuts. Trust the intuition!

Grind everything up to a nice, tight paste. Boil the pasta (I used mini fusilli) for as long as is recommended on the pack and strain. Place the pasta again in the pot, lowering the temperature, and toss with the pesto, adding a little bit more olive oil and gradually adding a small amount of water. Keep adding small amounts of water (the equivalent of an espresso cup, shall we say), like one does with risotto, adding more every time the pasta has absorbed the first amount. Remove the pasta from the stove when you have reached the desired density and consistency. Enjoy!