"Savore d'aglio" (garlic flavour) is the greatest symbol of Ligurian cuisine. Green, fragrant and versatile, it boasts a perfect balance of ingredients that represent the glory of local rurality (basil, EVO, garlic…), and a flying visit to nearby Emilia and Sardinia as regards cheese (24-month Parmigiano and Pecorino).
Originally, it served as a condiment for meat. The Riviera di Ponente goes for a slightly pungent pesto, whereas the Riviera di Levante opts for creamier versions (often inclusive of prescinseua).
"Pesto corto" features a tomato brunoise and less garlic. In 2004, "Crespi & Figli" from Ceriana (IM), established in 1925, was the first Italian business to achieve the UNI 10939 certification for the traceability of the whole system.
The best matches for pesto are lasagne (dialect mandilli, i.e. handkerchiefs), trenette, trofie (pasta twists probably invented in the Golfo Paradiso) and gnocchi. A pine nut-free version usually features as the final touch of minestrone alla genovese.
The 7 elements of this artful recipe are pounded with a hardwood pestle into a marble mortar (Carrara and the Apuan Alps are a short distance away). Pesto purists would shriek at the mere thought of a blender, which could "burn" the basil's precious olfactory qualities, so remember to opt for the pulse mode.
Fred Plotkin's remark, "Ligurians have basil instinct", successfully describes the locals' knack for the precious herb, grown at its best (small, round leaves) in the hills of Pra' (outskirts of Genoa), an area blessed by a unique sun-sea breeze combination.
Vessalico, a tiny village of the Valle Arroscia between the provinces of Imperia and Savona, provides the garlic (a Slow Food praesidium).
Storing pesto is a matter of airtight jars, clean and dry, and thin olive oil layers to protect the sauce from oxidation.
Translated by Luisa Puppo for Ligucibario®
https://www.ligucibario.com/ Pesto genovese di basilico al mortaio Recipe (4 people)
INGREDIENTS
2 cloves of mild garlic
3 tablespoons of pine nuts (ask for Pisa pinoli)
1 pinch of coarse salt
4 bunches of Basilico Genovese DOP
50 gr of freshly-grated Parmigiano Reggiano DOP
30 gr of freshly-grated Pecorino Sardo DOP
2 tablespoons of Riviera Ligure DOP EVO
PREPARATION
- Peel the garlic cloves, remove the germ, put the cloves into the mortar and start pounding
- Add the pine nuts, keep on pounding
- Add the coarse salt
- Pound into a paste
- Add the basil leaves (washed and pat-dried), pound and blend
- Add the freshly-grated Parmigiano Reggiano, blend
- Add the freshly-grated Pecorino, blend
- Slowly drizzle in the EVO, blend
Your pesto is ready when a milky coating tops its surface.
If your pesto is too thick, add a tablespoon of boiling water.
Dress in thin lasagne with your pesto and pair it with a glass of chilled white wine - go local with Pigato!
USEFUL LINKS
William Sitwell’s Italian Food Diary: Liguria, Italy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r14c3xWgK3M&t=7s
