Pesto sauce, Genoa-style
( Pesto alla genovese )

Pesto sauce recipe

Preparation

• - Prepare basil.
  Wash basil leaves in cold water twice. Make this step quickly, don't let basil leaves be in water too long.
  Pat dry them with absorbent kitchen paper.
• - Begin making sauce.
  Put basil leaves in a mortar together with 2 or 3 grains of coarse salt, pine nuts and garlic.
  Press all these ingredients with a rotatory motion using a pestle. You must obtain an homogeneous mixture.
  At this point add the two kinds of cheese and continue pressing and rotating.
  Then pour in half the olive oil, little by little, while you continue pounding.
  You must have a creamy sauce.
• - The last step.
  Complete your sauce adding remaining olive oil and stir.
  Your sauce is ready!
  Arm yourself with patience, a lot of patience! Of course the comparison with the different times of execution (mortar or food processor) helps to choose food processor ... right? ;))

Note

Tips

• - Recipe versions.
  Lots. I've already written in my introductions. Some people use only Pecorino cheese, others only Parmesan cheese.
  Doses of ingredients are very different and there are ingredients rich in fat so you must be careful if pesto becomes a habit or you.
  In Italy we can find version of pesto without garlic easily. If you want to prepare a similar version at home it is enough not to use it. Someone replaces it with a piece of onion.
• - Mortar or food processor?
  If you use a mortar you need at least 45 to 60 minutes. If you use a food processor you need only 5 minutes plus the time for cleaning and washing basil but it isn't the same thing!
  In any case if you decide to use a food processor I suggest how you can not overheat basil leaves, ruining the taste of pesto sauce hopelessly. First of all you have to keep blender jar in the freezer for about an hour. And then don't use the highest speeds. Finally, put all the ingredients together but don't use all the olive oil.
• - How to preserve pesto sauce.
  Pesto sauce should be stored in the refrigerator for four to five days at the most, covered with a thin layer of oil.
  You can also store it in your freezer for one to two months. Remember to divide it into the portions you use to toss pasta. So if you are pesto lovers you can enjoy it in late fall too. Let it thaw at room temperature and use it only on hot pasta.

Menu planning

• - You can use pesto sauce to toss pasta (trenette, trofie, lasagna, spaghetti, ...) and gnocchi (potato dumplings) or for making other kinds of recipes with eggs and asparagus.
  It can also be the topping for Italian pizza.
  In all cases it tastes fantastic!
• - Basil is in season in summer from May to September. So I suggest you not to do pesto sauce in winter even if you find fresh basil at the supermarket. Its leaves can't have the same scent.
  In fact people who live in Liguria and Genoa prepare winter pesto in the cold months :))
• - Recipe for winter pesto.
  Ingredients / Serves 4
  50g (1 3/4 ounces) tender Swiss chard leaves, cleaned
  1 garlic clove
  15g (1/2 ounce) pine nuts
  10g (1/3 ounce) Pecorino cheese, grated
  10g (1/3 ounce) Parmesan cheese, grated
  100ml (3 1/3 fluid ounces) extra virgin olive oil
  Salt
  Swiss chard leaves must have no veining. Combine all ingredients as you've just read for summer pesto recipe.

Useful links for this recipe

• - You could also be interested in pasta with pesto sauce and minestrone (vegetable soup) with pesto

Healthy eating

• - The calories of pesto sauce without the addition of pasta do not say anything at all. You will find much more interesting to look at the notes I wrote for pasta with pesto whose link is above.
  Instead, here, I show you nutrition facts of winter pesto that are definitely slightly higher for the variation of pine nuts.
  Energy: 269 kCal (1126 kJ)
  Protein: 2.9g
  Total fat: 28.4g
  Carbohydrates: 0.6g
  Sugars: 0.6g
  Fiber: 0.3g

Loretta