By William Leigh
An Italian dark green sauce for pasta originating in Genoa. It’s made from pine nuts blended with fresh basil, parmesan or pecorino cheese, garlic and olive oil. Red pesto is made similarly but with either sun-dried tomatoes, grilled red peppers or pimiento. It’s uncooked and can be bought preserved in jars or fresh in tubs.
Spaghetti with broccoli pesto
Pasta alla Genovese
How to make pesto
See all recipes for pesto (7)
Pesto and salmon parcels
Butternut squash and root veg hotpot
Roasted vegetable picnic loaf
Ten-minute tomato soup
Pesto lemon chicken
Spring minestrone soup with pesto
Quick tomato and basil tart
Puff pastry pizza bites
Pesto mash
The contents of jars, once opened, should be kept in the fridge and used within a couple of weeks. Fresh pesto in tubs should be used within two to three days.
Pesto can easily be made at home but you do need a generous amount of basil leaves to make just a small portion of pesto. Variations include using rocket, watercress or parsley instead of basil and nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts or pistachios instead of pine nuts. The sauce can be stirred into freshly cooked pasta, spooned on to thick soups, spread on bruschetta, fillets of fish or chicken before grilling, or added to mayonnaise and salad dressings.
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