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Trenette al Pesto

Heya there, it's cooking bearkitty  ghostbear2k.

Today I'm presenting yet another Italian classic dish, originating from Genoa, the capital of Liguria.
Homemade Pesto alla genovese, a savory, rich and creamy non-cook sauce.
Typically it is not served with Spaghetti, but with Trenette (or Linguine, which is just another name for them), a pasta similar to Spaghetti, but flat, formed like a little tongue (hence the name Linguine), so it will hold more sauce.
Like most Italian dishes, it's so very simple to make, has only a couple of ingredients, but requires a bit of time and love to prepare. It is worth it and I assure you, that you will never again eat a store bought Pesto out of a glass jar.

Here we go then...

Ingredients (serves 2):

- Trenette/ Linguine noodles
- 50g fresh basil leaves (Which basically meant stripping down one of those store bought pots of fresh basil, to give you an idea)
- 50g Parmigiano
- (optional: add some Pecorino cheese to your grated Parmigiano, it will give a wonderful flavor)
- Approx. 40g pine nuts
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- Course sea salt (you won't need much as the cheese is already very salty, maybe about 3g. It helps you ground the ingredients in the mortar)
- Olive oil (about 3-4 tbsp, but it can vary. Take a good olive oil, preferably Olive oil Extra Virgin and please, never use a neutral oil like sunflower, peanut or rapeseed oil)
- A stone mortar (you can use a blender, but I'd advise against it. It transmits too much heat to the sauce, ruining the taste. Plus carefully grinding the ingredients will release and preserve more of the aromatic essential oils )

Preparation:

Pick the basil leaves from the stem, wash them very carefully and then let them dry on some paper- or kitchen towels. Don't tap them dry.

Roast the pine nuts carefully in a hot pan without oil. Make sure not to burn them, that can happen very easily. Let them cool down completely, before you continue. Set some of the pine nuts (about 10g) aside for decoration later. Grate your cheese finely and peel your garlic gloves.

Take the garlic and about 30g of the pine nuts and put them into your mortar. Add some coarse salt and work them into a creme. Put in a handful of basil leaves, then carefully pound and ground them into a paste. Don't be too rough.

Work in batches or the leaves won't turn into a fine paste. Continue until all the leaves have been used. Add a few grains of course salt every now and then, it will help you ground down the basil leaves.

When everything is worked into a fine paste, slowly pour in a little of the olive oil, mix, then add the finely grated cheese and carefully mix it in as well. Add some more oil to keep it smooth. Don't add to much, it should not be swimming in olive oil, just enough to keep everything creamy.

Cook your pasta al dente in plenty of salted water. Take it out of the pot, don't rinse it and put it into a (pre-warmed) bowl. Don't pour away all the noodle water, you will still need a little bit of it.
Add Pesto and mix it well with your pasta, directly in your bowl, until your noodles are covered.
If the mixture gets too thick, pour in a few drops of the noodle water to adjust the texture.
Dress it on a soup plate, add a little more Pesto if you like.
Finish your dish with some roasted pine nuts, roughly cut basil leaves and some shaved Parmigiano.

Enjoy your meal ^_^

You can store your Pesto a few days in an airtight container in your fridge. Cover it with olive oil so it won't dry out.
Pour away the oil before use.
Although your pesto is best used fresh.

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Allergy warning – please read all recipes carefully
and be aware of any allergies or sensitivities that may affect your health and well-being