Pesto Pasta recipe: the traditional Italian recipe
Linguine with Pesto: the traditional Italian recipe
Ingredients
- 320 g Linguine
- 300 g fresh basil
- 30 g pine nuts
- 60 g fgrated Parmigiano Reggiano
- to taste Salt
- Extra virgin olive oil Il Casolare
Instructions
- Put the basil leaves in the mortar and start pestling them.
- Add a small pinch of garlic, Parmigiano and salt.
- When the mix turns creamy add extra virgin olive oil and stir.
- Cook the linguine in abundant salted water, drain and season with the pesto.
- Top your linguine with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Linguine with pesto is certainly one of the most popular traditional recipes of Italian cuisine: it is quick and easy to make, everybody likes it and it solves the last-minute lunch or dinner dilemma.
If you never tried to make pesto at home, it’s time to start: you will notice the difference with ready-made solutions!
Homemade pesto
Homemade pesto is definitely different from the one you find on the shelf and it is not at all difficult to make. Just follow a few simple rules:
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The traditional recipe calls for a mortar and pestle: the pestle crushes basil leaves without cutting them, allowing them to release all the essential oils they contain.
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The most suitable mortars for this purpose are made of stone or rough marble. Their abrasive surface is ideal to crush the basil.
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Press down the basil with the tip of the pestle and, while pressing down, move it in a circle. The pestle should crush the leaves on the edge of the mortar. No need to pound them on the bottom.
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If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, use a blender: to prevent oxidation from heat, cool the blades in the fridge first and use the pulse button.
Linguine with pesto: pay attention to the ingredients.
Simple recipes are often insidious. It is essential to use top quality ingredients, starting with the main ones: in this case basil and extra virgin olive oil.
If at all possible, buy Genovese basil. Its taste is more delicate and does not have the mint flavor typical of basil from Southern Italy, used for other dishes. The leaves of Genovese basil are small, convex and oval-shaped, delicately green, perfect for our linguine. Carefully wash the leaves and pat them dry, without wrinkling them so they don’t lose their aroma.
Along with basil, extra virgin olive oil is the other main ingredient of pesto, and its quality is of paramount importance. Our Chef selected Il Casolare Extra virgin olive oil, produced with organic olives grown, harvested and pressed in Italy. This unfiltered oil, suitable for various uses in the kitchen, is characterized by an extremely delicate scent and a slightly fruity taste, which is well suited to the preparation of our pesto.
Now that you got all the tips you need for the best pesto, we’ll leave you to watch our Chef’s video and wish you Buon Appetito!
