Almost everyone is familiar with Pesto alla Genovese, the green garlic-and-basil sauce that's one of the symbols of Ligurian cuisine. The verb pestare means "to stomp on," or to crush, and therefore the word pesto describes a process more than a product. Indeed, pesto alla genovese is made by grinding the ingredients in a mortar. So is Pesto alla Siciliana, which is made with tomatoes rather than basil. You'll need:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces (50 g) pinoli
- 3 small heads of garlic
- 2 large sun-ripened tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, and chopped
- A small bunch of basil
- A small bunch of parsley
- The leaves of a stalk of celery
- Olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Mince the herbs. Remove the skins from the garlic cloves. Grind the pine nuts and garlic in a mortar with the tomatoes, work in the herbs, and continue grinding until you have a smooth paste. Check seasoning, work enough olive oil into the mixture to transform it into a smooth sauce, and you're ready to use it over pasta, or to serve it with boiled or grilled meats. A little goes quite a ways; keep the remainder in a jar in the refrigerator.
Pesto alla Trapanese is a little less strong:
Pesto alla Trapanese is a little less strong:
- 6 cloves garlic
- 6 ripe plum tomatoes
- 1/4 pound (100 g) blanched, peeled almonds
- A bunch of basil
- Olive oil, salt, and pepper
