During the third edition of the Italian Cuisine Week, Pasta Pesto Day aims to raise funds for the Italian region of Liguria's major city Genoa, which was recently hit by the tragic collapse of the Morandi bridge.
So how is Pesto alla Genovese prepared? This traditional basil pesto has very humble origins, as born and bred Genoese DiVino's chef Bruno Conti explained to SBS Italian. It used to be made of the very few ingredients that the poorest peasants could afford, but the traditional recipe now includes also some more expensive fare, such as Parmesan cheese and pine nuts.
To make the most of this deceptively simple recipe it is essential to start by choosing great quality ingredients.
Here is the list of basic ingredients according to chef Conti:
Ingredients
- 2 bunches of basil
- 20 gr. pine nuts
- 40 gr. Parmesan cheese
- 15 gr. pecorino sardo
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 gr. salt
- 70-80 gr. extra-virgin olive oil
Bruno stresses that the garlic should be young and sweet, and ideally the basil should be the Ligurian variety, or at least organic.
Preparation
Pick the smaller basil leaves, which are more tender, and take the anima away from the garlic. Anima literally means soul, and refers to the green germ inside the clove which is said to be bitter. Pine nuts give a creamy and sweet note to the pesto. The best olive oil for this recipe is Ligurian, which has a delicate flavour, but if it is hard to source at least aim for a good quality oil because this is an essential ingredient.
Bruno usually starts by putting the pine nuts, garlic and half the oil into the blender, then he adds the basil with an ice cube (to preserve the essential oils of the basil), then cheese and salt. Some only use seasoned Parmesan, but Bruno likes to add some pecorino sardo. It is important to keep tasting the pesto as you prepare it to adjust the ingredients and find the perfect balance.
A hotly debated question in the world of pesto preparation is, mortar or blender?
Does using a mortar make a better pesto? (asmallkitcheningenoa.com) Source: asmallkitcheningenoa.com
Bruno explains you can either use a mortar (the best way according to many) or a blender (which is less time-consuming). The advantage of the mortar is that it doesn't cut the basil leaves but it crushes them, so that the essential oils ooze out flavouring the sauce.
Pesto can be had with all sorts of pasta, but the most traditional types in Liguria are trofie and pansotti. In the region pesto is also prepared with lasagne.
On Pasta Pesto Day many Italian restaurants will be putting pasta al pesto on their menu and for each plate sold two euros will be devolved to the city of Genoa.
