Pesto, traditional and practical way

Pesto is a world known sauce, one of the many typical dishes that comes from Genova (Genoa), in the wonderful region of Liguria, Italy, where I grow up. Is good to eat in summer and winter, can be used as pasta sauce or just spread on bread, or even better, focaccia and is one of our favourite recipe, so let’s start from the beginning and make some pesto!

The name

Pesto comes from the Italian verb “pestare”, which translates in “mash” or “crush”, this is because all the ingredients, by tradition, are placed in a marble mortar and turned into a mesh with a wooden pestle. This is so far the best way of prepare it, however takes time, experience and a lot of patience. There is even a World Pesto Championship, which this year is held in the wonderful Palazzo Ducale, in the heart of Genova, so is serious stuff.

The ingredients

The main ingredient is of course the basil, a plant that belong to the same family of the mint and that seems to be introduced from the south east Asia. It was a well known Ayurvedic medicinal herbs and in the Hindu mythology the “tulsi” (basil) was the sacred plant of Lakshimi, Visnu’s wife. Even nowadays many attribute to multiple healing properties and a plant with an highly different content of nutrients. Be careful however, because the ideal basil for the pesto only comes only from the plants before they bloom, this because they keep in full their irresistible scent and taste…I can’t find anything to back me up, besides the popular know how acquired from the elders of my family, so you can trust me on this. The best basil is, of course, the one from Liguria, which have small darker leaves. Another important ingredient which also have curative proprieties is the garlic, well known for its anti-inflammatory properties, then we have other minor ingredients that are important for their high nutritional values like the pine nuts, which can be also interchanged with walnuts, even if the most will argue that is not the real pesto.

Another very important ingredient is the cheese: many have different idea of which cheese is the correct one, but traditionally is used both Pecorino Sardo (fresh or hard) and Grana Padano (or Parmigiano Reggiano). Other cheeses can be used of course, but the strong very typical flavour of the cheeses above is rarely matched by others. Lastly, but not less important, are rock salt and oil, which have to be a good quality extra virgin.

The original recipe requires that all the ingredients are mashed in the mortar until a cream is obtained, but what I usually do is a more practical preparation, quick and easy to keep, without losing the original taste, so put up your sleeves and follow me.

The recipe

Ok, this recipe, like many others can be used as starting point and should be adjusted to your taste and your fantasy. Let’s start with the list of the ingredients and the approximate quantity, just to give you an idea of the proportion:

• 200 gr of Basil leaves (I prefer the Thai Basil, with the small darker leaves, similar to the one in my city)
• 100 gr of Grana Padano (or Parmigiano Reggiano)
• 100 gr of Pecorino Sardo (sometimes I use the Pecorino Romano, which is easier to find in Sydney)
• 13 gr of pine nuts (if you like a more nutty taste add more)
• 2 medium garlic cloves
• less than a hand of rock salt (pretty much like a tea spoon)
• oil (must be extra virgin and good quality, I don’t cook with any other)

First of all you need to pick by hand the basil leaves. Basil tend to become black if cut with a knife. The basil need to be washed, rinsed and put on a side. Now take two cloves of garlic, peal them and cut them in four at least. Grate both cheeses but don’t put them away, because you may need to add more later. You can also add them in chunk if you hate grate cheese like me. The best way to keep those cheeses in the fridge is to wrap them in kitchen paper and then plastic foil, just be sure to keep always dry the paper and the cheese.

Now what do you need is a blender that have the pulse function. Why is that? A blender that run for an extensive period of time risk to “cook” the basil with the heat generated by the blades and that is really bad because change its taste and ruin the pesto. At this point put all the basil in the blender and add all the other ingredients. The oil doesn’t need to be added in abundance, but instead I take my bottle of organic oil and I draw slowly three or four circles on top of the content of my blender.

Now comes the difficult and crucial part: blending. As I said before, you need to use the pulse of your blender with burst not bigger than 2 or 3 seconds, then you need to check the mix and use your senses. The basil will inevitably became a bit darker, but if the colour is black it means that you have put not enough oil or blended too long. To help in understanding the degree of darkness, just take a couple of basil leaves and chop them with your knife without oil, then wait a little…that is the colour you don’t want.

While blending, you will also need to to taste your pesto to see if the salt is good, you like the taste, etc. Another thing you should do is probably to add a bit more cheese, at taste. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t…depending on my internal chees-o-meter. At this point the pesto should be like mine: a very tick paste made of micro pieces and an inviting brilliant green. I prefer to not blend it all, but to leave it like this, because I think the taste is much better than the one fully blended.

Conservation and use

I consider a personal insult if I see someone putting the pesto in the pan over the fire; the pesto have to be consumed fresh and cooking it changes the taste making it something different. Only exception are the lasagna with pesto of my mum, anyway like someone said “De gustibus non est disputandum”, in matters of taste, there can be no disputes.

This is the way I like it to serve (and that will gain respect of every Genoa citizen): put the pesto in a plate, or a big bowl if you are sharing it, add a little bit of oil if needed and then the magic touch, a couple of table spoon of the water of the pasta. Your pesto have to become creamy, but if you put too much oil it will taste like…oil, so the water of the pasta (or even some milk I heard) will help getting that texture that will make a perfect match with your pasta. Yes, the density of the sauce must be determinated by the shape of the pasta and its ability to hold on to it.

Traditionally pesto is consumed with a pasta called trofie a short, thin, twisted pasta, but is good with every other kind. Some may not know that pesto is also consumed in the pasta together with one or more of the following ingredients: green beans, cut in small pieces that match the size of the pasta, potatoes, cut in slices a bit less than one centimetre, and broad beans; all should take pretty much the same time of the pasta to cook, if you put them in the same pot. My favourite? Broad beans and potatoes, yummy!

When you need to keep the pesto for later use, if you don’t eat it all, is usually placed in a jar, totally covered in oil, but this is expensive, annoying (I don’t like to have my finger all oily) and ruin all your hard work, because your pesto will taste just like oil. There is a simpler and better way: grab a piece of plastic foil, put the tick pesto on it and then gently press it with the palm of your hand until you have a tongue of pesto not ticker than one finger, then put it in the freezer on a flat surface. Once you will need it again, all you have to do is to crack a piece of it, take off the plastic, put it on a plate and ten add a bit of oil and water from the pasta. You can help the pesto to melt by dividing it and smash it with a fork…et voila’, your pesto is ready and fresh as it was when you made it!