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Homemade pesto: history and traditional Italian recipe

Homemade pesto: history and traditional Italian recipe
Homemade pesto: history and traditional Italian recipe

The most famous and loved around the world is Genoese pesto. See how to do it

pesto is one of the most used and well-known sauces in the Italian culinary tradition. The guardian of the original recipe, the official pesto, Is Genovese Pesto Consortium, which is based in the Liguria region building in Genoa. 

There are many recipes and regional variations of pesto in Italy, but the most famous and loved in the world is the Genoese pesto. 

The origin

The first written recipe for pesto that we know today is found in Vera Cuciniera Genovese, by Emanuele Rossi (1852), and was named as Pesto d'Aglio and Basilico.

The book “La cuciniera genovese” was published in 1852

Where to use pesto sauce?

Pesto sauce goes very well with pasta, such as spaghetti, lasagna and trofie. In Liguria, the tradition is to use the sauce pesto with trofie, a typical pasta from the region. But pesto goes very well with many other types of pasta.

Pasta trofie with pesto, typical of Liguria
Pesto goes well with roasted tomatoes

Baked potatoes with pesto are delicious

Pesto is a raw sauce, which is a compound in which the ingredients are mixed cold, not cooked. For this characteristic, the ingredients do not lose their original characteristics.

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Do not heat the pesto sauce before mixing it with the pasta.. The best alternative is to mix it with a little pasta water, to obtain more creaminess, and then mix it with the pasta.

See how to prepare the only, true and authentic pesto Genoese.

RECIPE

Basil: 50 sheets (about 25 g)
Garlic: August
Pinoli: 15 g
Extra virgin olive oil: 100ml
Parmesan: 70 g
Coarse salt: some grains

METHOD OF PREPARATION

1 – Clean the basil leaves gently with a damp cloth (do not wash under running water).

2 – Cut the garlic into small pieces.

3 – Place the garlic in the mortar with a pinch of coarse salt and macerate until you obtain a creamy consistency. Add the pine nuts and add the basil leaves little by little, stirring with the rotating pestle. Finally, add the cheese and olive oil.

A tip: pine nuts are not easily found in Brazil. In this case, the most common is replace by Brazil nuts, because they have a texture closer to the pine nuts.

5 – If you don't have a pestle, you can prepare it in a blender by placing all the ingredients in the glass that was left in the freezer for some time before starting the preparation to prevent the pesto from turning brown.

6 – Pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for two or three days, taking care to cover the surface well with oil, or it can be frozen.

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