The Genovese pesto is a cold sauce made from basil, an aromatic plant with bright green leaves that has Asian origins. The arrival of the beautiful season is the best time to try your hand at the pesto recipe, which you can then use to create many fresh and tasty dishes. Let’s see what all the secrets are for preparing the Genovese pesto, with some variations from the traditional recipe.
Genovese Pesto Recipe
Perhaps not everyone knows that Genovese pesto is part of the agri-food products of the Ligurian tradition recognized by the Ministry of Agricultural Policies and therefore its name is subject to the regulations of the Consortium of Genovese Pesto.
Its name comes from the traditional preparation method where the basil leaves must be crushed, indeed, in a marble mortar along with the other ingredients.
The execution of the recipe is really very simple and fortunately, you do not need to be a skilled cook to obtain an excellent pesto. However, there are some small tricks that are good to know to prepare a Genovese pesto perfectly.
The Right Ingredients
The first secret is to obtain quality raw materials, as required by the Consortium of Genovese Pesto. Here are the ingredients you need to gather to prepare enough pesto to dress 600 grams of pasta:
- 50 grams of DOP Genovese basil. Choose Ligurian basil, which has its particular characteristics with medium-small oval-shaped leaves that release a unique aroma.
- 50 ml of extra virgin olive oil. Our Maina signed Sommariva is perfect because it has a more delicate taste, which enhances the flavors without overpowering them. All the different extra virgin olive oils Sommariva are also suitable for preparing pesto.
- 35 grams of DOP Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano.
- 15 grams of DOP Fiore Sardo Pecorino.
- 2 cloves of garlic, preferably from Vessalico, a fraction in the province of Imperia.
- 8 grams of Italian pine nuts.
- 1 pinch of coarse salt.
How to Make Pesto
Always staying true to the traditional recipe of the Genovese pesto, let’s see in detail what all the preparation phases are. But even before starting, it is good to specify that the best tool for making pesto is the dear old marble mortar with a wooden pestle. Unfortunately, many do not own this object from the past and prefer to use the modern food processor. This last option is fine too, of course, as it saves a lot of time and effort; in this case, however, you need to follow a few simple rules that we will explain later.
For this, we have decided to divide the procedure into two different types: for those who use the mortar and for those who use the blender.
With the Mortar
- First, you need to wash the basil leaves. If you have plenty of time, you can rinse them under cold running water, then lay them on a clean cloth and wait for them to dry completely. Otherwise, you can wash them with a piece of paper towel or a soft cloth; the important thing is to do this procedure carefully to avoid damaging the delicate basil leaves, otherwise, the risk is that they release a vaguely bitter taste.
- Start to crush the garlic in the mortar and then add the coarse salt; continue until you obtain a cream.
- At this point, you can add the pine nuts, which will also need to be crushed.
- Add the basil leaves little by little and start crushing them with gentle movements.
- Add the cheeses, also in this case in several stages.
- Pour the extra virgin olive oil in drops while mixing until you obtain a nice cream.
With the Blender
A few hours before starting the preparation, it would be advisable to put the blender container in the fridge, to prevent the pesto from overheating.
You need to put the ingredients in a precise order: first the basil, followed by pine nuts, oil, salt, and garlic. At this point, you can start to blend but in several bursts, otherwise, the pesto gets too warm and tends to darken and have a bitter taste.
Last step: add the cheeses and mix them into the mixture with a spoon.
Variations to the Classic Recipe
Although this paragraph might make the representatives of the Consortium of Genovese Pesto frown, we realize that many may have intolerances, such as to cheese. Others may not tolerate garlic well due to its strong and decisive flavor. Therefore, it is possible to prepare Genovese pesto by eliminating one or both of these ingredients.
We at Frantoio Sommariva have thought of this too, in fact, we offer the pesto without garlic and the vegan pesto without cheese.
The Sommariva Signed Genovese Pesto
The Genovese pesto BIO that you find for sale on our site is prepared according to the classic recipe, with DOP Genovese basil that also has the Bio certification, and all other top-quality ingredients, so you can bring to the table all the flavor of the Ligurian culinary tradition. Available in a 100-gram jar, in a 180-gram format or 760 grams for the whole family. For a tasty variant, you can try the bio red pesto which is nothing but Genovese pesto BIO with the addition of bio sun-dried tomatoes of the highest quality.