{"id":3742,"date":"2013-02-06T12:24:49","date_gmt":"2013-02-06T12:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/walks.friday.ie\/?p=3742"},"modified":"2024-11-13T19:39:51","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T19:39:51","slug":"pesto-alla-genovese-liguria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/food-and-wine\/pesto-alla-genovese-liguria","title":{"rendered":"What to Know About Pesto Genovese (& The Best Pesto Recipe Around)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How it should be: pesto alla genovese on trofie pasta (photo by lucadea on Flickr)<\/p><\/div>\n

Pesto pasta is one of the most popular dishes in Liguria<\/a>, Italy\u2014and it’s one that’s found lots of popularity worldwide! But in many cases, what you find when you order a pesto dish abroad just isn’t the same as what you’d find in Liguria. Here’s what “pesto” really means, what\u00a0pesto alla genovese\u00a0<\/em>should be… and how to make it at home!<\/p>\n

First of all, in Italy, “pesto” doesn’t necessarily refer just to that green, basil-filled paste we’ve come to think of. Instead, it can refer to almost any mix of herbs that are pounded together and put over a pasta. In Sicily, for example,\u00a0pesto rosso\u00a0<\/em>uses tomato and almonds.<\/p>\n

\"DOP

Want to make pesto the Genovese way? Then you need basil from Genoa! (But any fresh basil will taste great, too).<\/p><\/div>\n

No matter what herbs go into it, pesto has a long history. Ancient Romans pounded together garlic, cheese, and herbs, a paste they called moretum.\u00a0<\/em>In the Middle Ages, Italians mashed walnuts with garlic, a mix that was especially popular among Liguria’s seafaring culture: The paste was thought to help ward off sickness during long sea voyages.<\/p>\n

Still, the most famous\u00a0<\/em>pesto\u2014and the one we tend to think of when we hear the word\u2014is\u00a0pesto alla genovese.\u00a0<\/em>The first recipe for this kind of pesto turned up in 1863 in the first major book of Ligurian cuisine, so it’s relatively new. But it already has a very carefully-defended tradition!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pesto alla genovese is one of the most famous foods to come out of Liguria.<\/p><\/div>\n

In fact, pesto alla genovese <\/em>is\u00a0D.O.P.-protected, meaning that in Italy and Europe, only sauces made in this precise way, and with these ingredients, can even call themselves pesto genovese. The ingredients must include D.O.P. basil from Genoa, for example, because the soil and climate in that particular area gives the basil a flavor that’s impossible to replicate elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Want to make it at home? Here’s the official recipe<\/a>\u00a0that won the Genoa Pesto World Championship<\/a> (yes, that’s a real thing!). Of course, depending on where you’re making your pesto, you might not be able to get all of the very-specific ingredients – like that fresh basil grown outside Genoa. But get as close as possible, and you’ll be in good shape!<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n