Pasta al Pesto

Pesto pasta is a classic dish of Ligurian cuisine, but as every good Italian knows, it is widely appreciated and spread throughout the country. Here’s how you can prepare it:

Ingredients

• 320 g of pasta (trofie, linguine or spaghetti are excellent with pesto)
• 2 bunches of fresh basil (about 50 g of leaves)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 30 g of pine nuts
• 60 g of grated Parmesan
• 20 g of grated Pecorino
• 100 ml of extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt to taste

Preparation

1. First, wash the basil leaves carefully in cold water and dry them gently with a cloth without rubbing them to avoid blackening.

2. In the mortar, start pounding the two garlic cloves with a pinch of coarse salt until reduced to a cream.

3. Add the basil leaves and continue pounding with circular motions. When the basil starts to release a light green liquid, it’s time to add the pine nuts.

4. After the pine nuts, incorporate the cheeses, Parmesan and Pecorino, which will help to blend everything.

5. Pour in the extra virgin olive oil in a stream, always working the pesto in the mortar until reaching the desired consistency.

6. Bring a pot of abundant salted water to a boil, cook the pasta al dente and reserve some of the cooking water.

7. Drain the pasta and save a few tablespoons of the cooking water.

8. Dress the pasta with the pesto, adding if necessary a bit of the cooking water to make the sauce more fluid and to help distribute it evenly.

Remember to work the pesto as little as possible with metal utensils, because oxidation could compromise its color and flavor. Using a marble mortar with a wooden pestle is the traditional method, but if you lack these tools you can use a blender or mixer, being careful not to overheat the basil.

Trivia

The Genoese pesto has its own protected designation of origin (PDO) and its recipe was deposited by the Liguria Region at the Chamber of Commerce of Genoa, to protect and promote this culinary tradition.