Pesto Recipes

Originating in Genoa, pesto is a versatile Italian sauce made from fresh basil, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese.

The name 'pesto' is the past participle of the Italian verb 'pestare'. This means 'to crush' or 'to pound', which refers to the preparation method for the sauce. Officially, the word is generic for anything that's produced by pounding. In Italy, it relates to several types of pesto, but the Genovese version is the most popular, which is the traditional green paste commonly used in cooking.

Including basil as the main ingredient in pesto is only a fairly recent occurrence. Although the sauce is thought to date back to Roman times, the inclusion of basil was first documented in the middle of the 19th century when Giovanni Battista Ratto, a gastronomist, published La Cuciniera Genovese, a book about Italian recipes and cooking.

The best advice for how to make pesto is to use a blender or food processor when making it fresh, as opposed to a pestle and mortar, which is much harder work. Blend fresh basil leaves, pine nuts, peeled garlic cloves, Parmesan cheese shavings and olive oil.

How to Make a Creamy Pesto Sauce

Because the sauce is so flavoursome, use pesto sparingly so the overall effect isn't too overpowering. Add some Greek yoghurt to your pesto recipes for a creamier and milder taste.

How to Make Pesto Without Pine Nuts?

A handy tip is that you don't have to stick to the main ingredients. You can experiment with walnuts, coriander, mint or Romano cheese as substitutes for the standard ingredients. Anyone with a dairy intolerance can leave out the cheese completely.