Pesto is now all the rage, although it was only found in Genovese
households until recent years. We used pesto to flavor scrambled eggs in
the morning, mixed with steamed potatoes and vegetables for a light lunch,
quite often with pasta as a main course, and sometimes as a spread on a
ground sirloin steak (on rare occasions, a filet mignon). You can use it
as a dip for bits of French bread, toasted or plain. Of course, pesto is
best known as an addition to pasta. The name "pesto" comes from the fact
that in the days before electric blenders were available, this mixture was
ground using a mortar and pestal. While the Province of Liguria, where
Genova is located, is a small geographic area, there were as many
variations of the pesto recipe as there were little towns and cities. The
three indispensable elements are garlic, sweet basil (basilico) and olive
oil. A lot of people add grated Parmesan cheese and pine nuts. Others
add ricotta, small curd cottage cheese, heavy cream, butter, parsley,
salt, pepper, oregano, or white wine, alone or in combination. The recipe
given here is Nona Zurlo's, which is the way they made pesto for centuries
in her native town of Lavagna.
1 cup, olive oil
2 cups, fresh basil leaves
12 medium-to-large garlic cloves
1 cup, roasted pine nuts
1/2 cup, grated Parmesan cheese
2 pounds pasta (try spaghetti or buccatini or penne)
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