Italy / Sauces & condiments
Pesto alla genovese
Basil ground with garlic and pine nuts. No heat and no blender — a mortar and a cool room.
Ingredients
- Basil leaves60 g
- Pine nuts30 g
- Garlic1 clove
- Parmesan, finely grated50 g
- Pecorino, finely grated25 g
- Extra virgin olive oil100 ml
- Coarse salt1 pinch
Quantities are auto-calculated from the original recipe as a guide. Items without numbers (e.g. “to taste”) are not changed.
Method 4 steps
Wash the basil and dry it completely: any water stops the oil binding to the leaves. Chill the mortar and pestle in the fridge.
Pound the garlic with the coarse salt to a paste. The salt works as an abrasive; without it the garlic just slides around.
Add the pine nuts and work them to a cream, then add the basil a handful at a time. The movement is a pressing circle rather than a pounding: the leaves are crushed against the wall, not smashed.
Work in both cheeses, then trickle the oil in while still grinding. The sauce should come together thick and even.
