Pesto sauce

Here I am guys in the kitchen of My-personaltrainerTv. I must admit that today I am a little agitated to present you the recipe of the day because I am about to try my hand at preparing Genoese pesto. Why agitated do you say? Because, despite having very often prepared this tasty sauce ideal for seasoning pasta, I am not originally from Liguria, so I fear that the Genoese DOCs can pull my ears. I have studied the subject in depth, which is why I have decided to list all the precautions that must be followed to obtain an impeccable "Genoese" pesto.

1. The Genoese pesto must be prepared with a mortar: the leaves should not be pounded with force, but must be almost "caressed", pressed gently, performing rotational movements
2. Wash the basil in cold water and dry it perfectly: the excess water could blacken the pesto
3. Avoid overheating the sauce to avoid damaging the active ingredients: for this reason we do not recommend the use of an electric blender
4. Preferably use "young" basil leaves to maintain a nice bright color.
5. Toast the pine nuts to enhance the aroma
6. Use sweet garlic: to make the pesto more digestible, I recommend removing the heart
7. Prefer grains of coarse salt to facilitate the preparation of the sauce
8. To prepare an excellent basil pesto it is a good rule to also use patience and calm

• Avoid overheating the sauce
• Place the blender blade and blender container in the fridge before use
• Add an ice cube to keep the basil bright color

Video of the Recipe

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Identity Card of the Recipe

• 492 KCal Calories per serving

• Ingrediants

  • 40 g of basil leaves
  • 30 g of pine nuts
  • 25 g of grated Parmesan cheese
  • 25 g of pecorino
  • q.s. (about 50-60 ml) of extra virgin olive oil
  • q.s. of coarse salt
  • 1 clove of garlic

  Materials Needed

  • Mortar and pestle in marble
  • Grater
  • Glass jars for storage
  • Frying pan for toasting pine nuts
  • Spoons
  • Absorbent paper or soft cloths to dry the basil

  Preparation

  1. Gently wash the basil leaves and dry them with a soft cloth or absorbent paper.
  2. Remove the heart from the garlic clove: in this way, the pesto will be more digestible.
  3. Pour the garlic clove and a few grains of coarse salt into the mortar, then start mashing with a pestle until creamy.
  4. Toast the pine nuts in a pan, without adding oil or other seasonings. In this way, the aroma of the pine nuts will be better released.
  5. Add the basil leaves a few at a time and cover with other grains of coarse salt: with gentle and rotating movements, crush the leaves until they form a cream.
  6. Now add the pine nuts and continue to pound with the pestle.
  7. Once a cream is obtained, add the grated Parmesan cheese, grated pecorino cheese and enough extra virgin olive oil to obtain the desired consistency.

  For those who do not have the mortar
  you can use the blender. In this case, however, care must be taken to avoid overheating of the sauce, therefore of the active ingredients of the basil. For this reason it is recommended to use a cold blade and container from the refrigerator, and to blend a little at a time with an "intermittent" rhythm. Optionally, to prevent the sauce from oxidizing, you can add an ice cube to the blender container.

  8. The pesto is ready to be stored in sterilized glass jars, well covered with a layer of oil to prevent the formation of mold.

  Alice's comment - PersonalCooker

  The pleasant rotating noise of the pestle that caresses the walls of the mortar accompanied us in the preparation of this truly exceptional sauce, ideal especially for seasoning types of pasta such as trofie, trenette and trofiette. Here guys, I'm done for today: I hope you enjoyed my pesto recipe and that I was up to it. Discover also my recipe for risotto with pesto!

  Nutritional values ​​and Health Comment on the recipe

  Pesto alla Genovese is a very energetic and lipid-rich accompanying sauce (albeit of good quality, since many are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated); proteins are present in good quantities, even if of medium biological value, while carbohydrates are marginal. Cholesterol is low and fiber is decent. The average portion of pesto alla Genovese to accompany a first course of pasta is about 40-50g (200-250kcal).