Guido's Nonna's recipe: Linguine with Pesto alla Genovese

 

Guido's Nonna's Recipe: 

Linguine with Pesto alla Genovese - Serves  6

Ingredients: 500 g (1 packet) of linguine pasta (La Molisana brand is recommended).

For the sauce: 1 large bunch of fresh basil leaves, 1/3 of a clove of garlic, handful of pine-nuts, 60 g of Grana Padano cheese, extra virgin olive oil, pinch of salt.

Method: (using a blender): To prepare pesto, put basil leaves, pine-nuts, Grana Padano and Pecorino cheese, 1/3 of a clove of garlic and a  pinch of salt into the blender with a little extra virgin olive oil. Blend until smooth (or chunky, if preferred), then add more olive oil.

Cook Linguine aldente, put it back in the pot after draining and mix in with sauce and a little butter. Stir all together. Serve immediately.

Buon appetito!

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Pesto Tips by Chef Guido

Basilico (the herb, basil) is in season and as Guido's grandmother and mother come from Genova, the birthplace of pesto, he loves to include making this delicious sauce in our cooking class menu. Here are just some of the tips for making a great pesto sauce:

1/ To clean: Never fully wash basil leaves, only wipe them with a clean cloth (this helps the basil stay fresh, green and dry)

2/ When using a mortar and pestle to grind the ingredients, always use a stone or marble mortar and a wooden pestle. as this brings out the best flavour! (Never stone with stone or wood with wood)

3/When you have placed the ingredients, including the basil leaves in the mortar, add a pinch of sale grosso (rock sea salt) before you start to grind (and also another pinch as you continue). This will help you grind the leaves more easily and keep the colour of the basil leaves light (because of the natural sodium in the salt)

4/If you use a blender instead of a mortar and pestle to grind the basil leaves, put the metal blade in the freezer before you use it. This will help stop the leaves browning in the process.

Pesto is very versatile as it is not only tasty with gnocchi or pasta, it is also often eaten in Italy with fish dishes or as a dip!

Convivio Rome Italian Cooking Holidays

One Day Italian Cooking Classes

Half Day Rome Olive Tours

Half Day Rome Winery and Wine Tasting Tours

Virtual Italian Cooking Parties

Online Cooking Classes with Chef Guido

Corporate Virtual Cooking Events

Online Video Italian Cooking Package