A couple of stories back, I wrote about our trip to the Cinque Terre in Italy. Well, it was in our B&B that we had the most delicious Basil Pesto:
“Our B&B served suppers as well, and that first evening we had the most delicious angel-hair pasta with basil pesto – the most delicate flavor of basil, lightly green with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and shavings of parmesan…yummy, and that was just the starter.”
Almost every house in the town of Vernazza had their obligatory flower pots outside their doors, but in between the flowers were bountiful stands of basil, ready to pick, fresh, at need.
When you make this pesto, pick only the newest leaves for the most delicate flavour, when serving, go easy with it, use angel-hair pasta. Top it with a dash of your favourite olive oil, a bit of shaved extra-old Parmesan, and you are in for a treat.
So, herewith, Pesto alla Genovese; the ‘official’ recipe
Recipe
Ingredients
60-70 gr Basil leaves
20-40 gr of Pecorino cheese, preferably Sardinian
45-60 gr of seasoned Parmesan cheese
60-80 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil, preferably from Liguria
10 gr Sea Salt
30 gr Pine Nuts, preferably from Pisa (good luck!!)
1-2 cloves garlic (Vessalico, {or not} for its delicate flavor)
A squeeze of lemon juice (my addition)
Freshly ground Black Pepper (my addition)
Method
Wash the basil leaves, which must be soft and come from plants no more than 2 months old (good luck!), and dry them carefully on a paper towel.
OK, so this is where you don’t use the mortar and pestle suggested and switch to a food processor.
Blend the basil, pine nuts, cheeses, and garlic together. Add the olive oil and pulse to blend.
Scrape down the sides of the blender bowl, then add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Pulse this mixture until everything is blended together and creamy smooth. Alternatively you could use a marble mortar and an olive wood pestle, but – good luck.
Serve immediately with, preferably angel-hair pasta, or store in the fridge for a week. If doing so, cover the pesto with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent oxidation.