Homemade Pesto Genovese

A homemade pesto you would find in the Cinque Terre (5 lands) region in Northern Italy. Pesto pasta is traditionally served with Trofie pasta and it's delicious!

Cinque Terre is a group of 5 towns that are bellied into the cliffs in between Pisa and Genoa.

Monterrosso al Mare
Vernazza
Corniglia
Manarolo
Riomaggiore

This area is known for many beautiful things, such as the cliff side trial hike, the amazing seaside views, the fresh seafood and of course the Homemade Pesto.

This brilliantly green food of the Gods is made from the freshest basil, the most delicate of Pine nuts and a blend of both Pecorino and Parmigiano cheeses.

Pecorino is a little sharper then Parmigiano but the blend of the two in this pesto recipe make it supremely yummy!

Homemade Pesto Genovese Ingredients:

Fresh basil leaves are the main ingredient for this pesto recipe so try to find a bunch that is aromatic and bright green.

1 cup of fresh basil leaves
2-3 cloves of garlic
cup of pinenuts
cup of finely grated Pecorino
cup of finely grated Parmigiano
Olive Oil
Salt to taste

The olive oil, like most Italian food recipes, is measured by eye.

Pesto Genovese Preparation:

Traditionally, and by traditionally I mean in the old country, pesto sauce was made with a mortar and pestle. They would grind the basil to a pulp to release the essential oils of the leaves. Then the pine nuts were added and ground by hand until creamy.

If you're feeling adventurous be my guest.

I used a food processor but the technique I use will get you close.

Rinse the fresh basil leaves in water. Then place all the basil leaves into the food processor by themselves.

Blend to a smooth consistency. I suggest blending for a 30 seconds and then stopping to scrap the sides with a spatula and then blending again until it's paste like.

Then add the pine nuts and the garlic and blend repeating the same stopping and scrapping technique. Scrap the pesto out of the processor into a bowl and add the parmigiano and pecorino cheeses.

Mix the cheeses with the fresh basil mixture until it has a creamy texture. Then in that same bowl drizzle the Olive Oil to the consistency you like.

Now that'sa pesto
Use this same technique to make this homemade pesto Siciliano. Almonds, mint and fresh tomato make a refreshing change to a traditional Italian pasta sauce.