La Lama Mountain Ovens
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The best of the recipes, techniques, and methods practiced by our large extended Italian-American family - with emphasis on the legacy handed down to us by the original immigrants.

This is a cookbook-in-process project. If you try any of these recipes please let us know how they turn out, whether or not you had any difficulties, and any clarifying improvements you might recommend to make them foolproof. We will of course acknowledge genuine "test-kitchen" assistance.

Family Secrets #36

Pesto - Old and New

By CeCe Dove, La Lama Mountain Ovens

No season is as identifiable to me by smell as is summer with its rich harvest of fruits, vegetables and herbs. Even on a damp cool morning when I gather a handful of fresh basil, close my eyes and inhale its fragrance, the world is instantly full of sunshine. That same warm, minty fragrance has greeted Genovese sailors returning to port for centuries, and it was this herb, over all others, that they craved after long sea voyages. After endless months of the restricted fare of sailing ships – of hardtack and salted meat – they longed for the sharp freshness of the wild basil that blooms over the hills of Genoa. It was this city and this need that gave rise to our most enduring summer sauce – pesto.

Genoa is a province of Liguria and is located on the northern coast of the western Mediterranean. Italian cuisine in general is and always has been extremely regional. It has developed to satisfy the needs of the local inhabitants. Fortunately for us pesto "travels well"; although it has taken hundreds of years and a number of translations to reach our shores. In spite of this it maintains its earthy simplicity and satisfying harmony.

The original Genovese recipe produces a sharp, tangy sauce used exclusively with trenette (a fettuccine shaped pasta, though slightly thinner), minestrone, and gnocchi. It is made with the local small-leafed basil, fresh garlic, the finest Ligurian olive oil, local fresh Pecora (a mildly tangy sheep's milk cheese) and fine aged Parmesan. It is ground in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle and is used immediately after making. This sauce is not for the faint-hearted. It is sharp, tangy, and some say harsh. It is meant to satisfy a sailor's appetite for sharp, clean, green ingredients that he has done without for months. Only a few miles away in Nervi, the locals cut this recipe with cream to make it gentler to the palate. Pine nuts (and occasionally walnuts) were added to the recipe as it evolved, but were not used originally.

Few of us today have the time or patience to use the mortar and pestle method, and the food processor does a creditable job. To replace the velvety richness attained in the mortar, butter has been added to newer recipes. While the modern recipe that follows is a good adaptation of the original, and suits our more hectic lifestyle, it is well worth the effort just once to make it by the traditional method. The biggest advantage of the food processor is that in one short afternoon you can make enough pesto to freeze and carry you through the cold winter months. On a stormy December evening when you pour that emerald green sauce over hot pasta and inhale the garlicky, minty aromas you'll have captured the warmth of the Mediterranean sunshine on your plate and palate.

Whatever method you choose, a word on handling basil is appropriate. In spite of its distinct and hardy aroma, it is a delicate plant, and once picked should be used quickly to preserve its essence. If the leaves are bruised or cut and exposed to air they will blacken and wilt very quickly. Olive oil protects the color of the leaves, as does salt, so once you begin to chop them, either in the processor or mortar, you must add the salt and oil steadily to prevent blackening.

Basil is at the peak of its season from July through September, and if you do not grow your own you can buy excellent field grown basil at a reasonable price in the markets. After September the markets will carry hot house basil which will be spindly, weak in flavor, and very expensive.

You can easily make a dozen or so pints to freeze by simply running continuous batches through the food processor. To do this, wash all the basil at once, strip leaves off stems, and spin dry in your salad spinner. Peel all the garlic you will need and measure the pine nuts, butter, and cheese in batches. Have the containers clean and dry. After everything is assembled each batch comes together in minutes.

A final thought on the trendy versus the traditional. The gradual evolution of a fine and proven recipe to suit the current cooking methods and products available seems a natural and inevitable course of events. But the total annihilation of the original by substituting anything imaginable for the basil, from parsley and spinach to tomatoes, seems to me to be heresy. I have seen "pesto" recipes without one hint of basil. While the final product may be a good tasting sauce, it is not pesto, and calling it such only manages to muddy up what should be sparklingly clear, i.e., pesto is made with basil as its main ingredient, and if you substitute parsley you will have made a green sauce that tastes of parsley.

The traditional method that follows is taken from "le Ricette Regionale Italiane", 2nd edition, published in 1967 in Italy. The modern version is my adaptation. There are no "new" recipes for pesto, only a gradual evolution of the original. There are, however, a few new uses to try with your pesto. Try mixing one half pint of pesto with 2 cups of cooked rice and 2 cups of steamed vegetables (zucchini, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower) and serve warm as a side dish or cold as a summer salad. You can mix one quarter cup of pesto with 2 cups ricotta and use it as a crepe filling. As you experiment with your own ideas please remember that this is an uncooked sauce, and is not meant to be heated directly. The warmth of the food it flavors is all the heat needed to release its full flavor.

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Pesto alla Genovese (Traditional)

• 36 fresh basil leaves
• 2 Tblsp. Pecorino sardo*, grated*
• 2 Tblsp. well aged Parmesan, grated
• 2 large cloves garlic

• 1 Tblsp. pine nuts, toasted in the oven a few minutes until golden
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. coarse salt (or to taste)

*Pecorino sardo is a fresh Genovese sheep's milk cheese, not nearly as dry or sharp as Pecorino Romano. It is worth the effort to locate a supply. You may substitute Romano if you wish.

Modern Pesto (Food processor method)

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tblsp. pine nuts, lightly toasted in oven
• 4 cloves garlic, cut into a few pieces each

• 1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 cup well aged Parmesan, grated
• 2 Tblsp. Pecorino sardo*, grated
• 3 Tblsp. butter, softened to room temp.

Pesto will keep in the refrigerator for a week without freezing. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the sauce, then cover tightly. If the top darkens slightly, it will not affect the flavor. Simply stir it into the sauce. If you are making this to freeze, do not add cheese before freezing. The pesto will keep better without it. Add cheese after defrosting and just before using.

Altitude Adjustment: None necessary.