When it gets really hot little is more refreshing than Ligurian pesto sauce. The addition of a little celery, perhaps. To serve 4, you'll need:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3/4 pound (320 g) spaghetti or trenette
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 pound (100 g) tender white celery ribs, finely sliced crosswise
- 1/2 cup less 2 tablespoons pinoli (pine nuts)
- A large bunch of fresh, highly aromatic basil
- 1-2 cloves garlic (to taste)
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Lightly salt the pasta water and set it to boil. In the meantime, prepare the pesto sauce:
If you have a marble mortar and wish to use it (purists say neither brass nor wood mortars will work), put the salt, garlic, nutmeats and basil in it and grind the mixture, firmly crushing the ingredients against the sides of the mortar, rather than striking sharp blows with the pestle. When the mixture is ground, add the cheese, a bit at a time, continuing to grind, and when it is all worked in, add the oil in a slow stream, stirring with a wooden spatula. The resulting pesto should be smooth and creamy.
If you are using a food processor instead, chop the garlic, basil, nutmeats, and salt, being careful not to let the mixture liquefy, then transfer it to a bowl and stir in the grated cheese and the oil.
In either case stir the finely sliced celery into the sauce at the end. Cook the pasta until it is al dente, drain it, stir the sauce into it and serve.
A wine? White, for example a Pigato or a Soave.
Yield: 4 servings green spaghetti.
If you have a marble mortar and wish to use it (purists say neither brass nor wood mortars will work), put the salt, garlic, nutmeats and basil in it and grind the mixture, firmly crushing the ingredients against the sides of the mortar, rather than striking sharp blows with the pestle. When the mixture is ground, add the cheese, a bit at a time, continuing to grind, and when it is all worked in, add the oil in a slow stream, stirring with a wooden spatula. The resulting pesto should be smooth and creamy.
If you are using a food processor instead, chop the garlic, basil, nutmeats, and salt, being careful not to let the mixture liquefy, then transfer it to a bowl and stir in the grated cheese and the oil.
In either case stir the finely sliced celery into the sauce at the end. Cook the pasta until it is al dente, drain it, stir the sauce into it and serve.
A wine? White, for example a Pigato or a Soave.
Yield: 4 servings green spaghetti.
