Ingredients
Basil leaves – 55gms
Pine nuts – 20gms
Garlic – one or two cloves
Parmesan – 40gms
Sardinian pecorino cheese – 10gms
Coarse salt – a few grains
Extra virgin olive oil – 55gms
Method
1. Wash the basil leaves in plenty of cold water. Leave them to dry on a towel. You can also use a hand-operated salad spinner. During this process, pay attention not to break, crush or rub the basil leaves. You need to use a marble mortar and a wooden pestle when making Genoese Pesto.
2. Once clean, crush the garlic and pine nuts in the mortar until they are creamy. Add the dry basil leaves a few at a time, and add salt. Don’t beat the mixture, but use the pestle with a delicate movement, rotating it against the sides of the mortar. This movement is necessary to extract the essential oils from the veins of the basil leaves, which are therefore not broken but rubbed against the side of the mortar.
3. Continue this movement until the sauce is homogeneous and well-mixed, and the basil is very fine. Add the Parmesan and the Sardinian pecorino cheese. Slowly add the extra virgin olive oil and stir again with a wooden spoon until the cheese is mixed in.
4. If you aren’t going to eat the pesto immediately, put it in a glass or plastic jar, cover it with a layer of oil and keep it in the fridge.
2 comments
hi…! information was very good …feeling to study more …….PROUD TO BE A CHEF
How do you use the pesto sauce with pasta.. do u have to heat the sauce? or does it go on top of cooked and cooled pasta?