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Pesto sauce should be considered
one of the most satisfying
raw bases for sauce in Italian
cooking.
The magic ingredients of
this traditional Ligurian
delicacyare basil 'basilico',
garlic 'aglio', pine nuts
'pinoli', extra virgin olive
oil and cheese, either a pecorino
or parmigiano, and that's
it.
Like much of the best Italian
food, it is is not the so
much the preparation that
matters but the choice of
the raw ingredients.
There are slight local variations
and do know that in Camogli
hazelnuts sometimes replace
the 'pinoli'.
The classic pesto is prepared
firstly with the most tender
of basil leaves, not too big
nor too small, which are beaten
in a marble mortar and pestle
together with the garlic.
Once a paste the pine nuts
are added followed by the
olive oil.
Finally the cheese. It should
be strictly 50% pecorino and
50% parmigiano, but they can
be varied according to taste.
During the summer we grow
our own basil from seed and
lob all the ingredients into
a food processor.
It comes out fine and is
great with a freshly boiled
linguini pasta.
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