La Dolce Vita: The Sweet Life with Three Sons: Pesto Passion (and a pesto secret)

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Pesto Passion (and a pesto secret)

When we were in Italy last September we spent several days in the region of Liguria, the third smallest of Italy's 20 regions. The Italian Riviera, with its resort towns and rugged coastline, is located in Liguria, along with the series of picturesque fishing villages known as Cinque Terre. Because of the unique geography of mountains and sea, the climate and the land is similar to what you might expect in southern Italy with palm trees, citrus fruits, flowers, and olive trees growing on the terraced hillsides.

As you can imagine, the region is known for its delicious seafood, but perhaps the most famous of all its culinary offerings is pesto because the mineral-rich seaside soil and temperate climate produces the three main ingredients to make it: Genovese basil, Ligurian extra virgin olive oil, and pine nuts.

During our stay, one of the towns we visited in Liguria was Portovenere where we all discovered the deliciousness that is pesto. It was sold everwhere--at a tiny stand at the entrance of the town, in all the restaurants, and in most shops. They even featured it as street food--pasta made with pesto in to-go cups, and because we were curious, my sister and I each bought one and walked around the town's tiny alleys eating cold pasta with a plastic fork and oh my goodness it was so good.

Before we left Portovenere I stopped at a small stand to buy some jarred pesto, and it was there that I made a tragic mistake, one which every traveler makes who is worried about luggage space: I only bought one jar.

Once I returned home and served pasta with the pesto from Liguria, the cheers turned to groans when my family realized the jar was finished. Done. Finito.

Now, before you lecture me about making my own, please know that I do make pesto. The ingredients are easily accessible BUT it never tastes as good as the pesto from Liguria. It couldn't possibly. I need the Genovese basil, the olive oil from olives warmed by the Ligurian sun, and the pine nuts from pine trees planted in the rich, seaside soil.

BUT ... and here it is ... MY PESTO SECRET!!!

Basil Pesto from Costco. Folks ... this pesto is awesome. Do you know why? Look at the label: 100% imported Italian Basil D.O.P. (Genovese Basil). And in case you're wondering, the D.O.P. label stands for Denominazione d'Origine Protetta / Protected Designation of Origin (which guarantees that the product is produced, processed, and packaged in a specific geographical zone according to tradition).

Basically this means that the Costco pesto is made with basil from the Ligurian region, which makes it a good substitute until we can return to Italy and get the real thing.

And since we're all about basil and pesto ...

Tips:

-In Italy, pesto is rarely cooked; to use, simply stir into the pasta at the last minute.

- Pesto has a strong flavor, so a little goes a long way.

-While there are different ways to make pesto, the traditional way uses fresh basil leaves, pine nuts (lightly toasted), fresh garlic, high quality extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and either Parmiggiano Reggiano or Pecorino.

Fun Facts:

-The Italian word for pesto (pestare) means to pound, or to crush. Pesto was orignially prepared with a marble mortar and wooden pestle.

-Among fresh herbs, basil is king. The name derives from the Greek "basileus" which means king or emperor.