When I traveled to Italy to meet my cousins, I was lucky to taste a homemade version of Genoa’s classic sauce, pesto genovese. The word pesto comes from the Italian verb pestare, meaning to crush or pound, hence the traditional motion of crushing the basil using a mortar and pestle.

Traditionally, pesto genovese like the one I tasted in Genoa is made up of the following ingredients: basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmigiano (parmesan), and olive oil. Although I always have a soft spot for the traditional Italian versions of recipes, pesto is a fun recipe to experiment with and try adding new ingredients.

In my following recipe, I have combined basil and parsley together to create a twist on traditional pesto. Both basil and parsley are considered “super foods” due to their high levels of antioxidants and nutrients, so why not combine them and make a super pesto- something that isn’t only delicious but is healthy and beneficial! And as I said earlier, pesto is fun to experiment with, so after my recipe I will offer different ingredient ideas to play with.

Basil and Parsley Pesto (makes enough for 1-1.5 lbs of pasta; serves approx 5-7 people)

Ingredients:

4 ounces basil (suggestion: 4 ounce container of organic basil from Trader Joe’s is a great value!)

1/2 of a bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley

1/3 cup pine nuts

3 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup of a mix of parmigiano and pecorino (suggestion: tub of parmigiano and pecorino grated mix found at Trader Joe’s in the cheese section)

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp lemon juice 

1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper (or add to taste)

Although using a traditional mortar and pestle can be fun………let’s make this easy and use a food processor. 😉

In your food processor, add the basil and parsley, and “pulse” until the leaves appear finely chopped. Add the pine nuts and garlic, and pulse again for about 30 seconds or until pine nuts and garlic are broken down and mixed into green mixture. Now add the pecorino and parmigiano and pulse until mixed. I bought the cheese grated so I didn’t have to mix for very long to break down the cheese; pulse longer if you bought in larger pieces.

Now it’s time to add the olive oil. You want to add this slowly while letting it mix into the basil and parsley mixture. You can easily achieve this by pouring the olive oil into the pouring attachment on the top of your food processor and letting the food processor run while the oil steadily drips out of the top attachment into the mixture. Once all the oil is added and mixed in, add in the lemon, salt, and pepper and pulse for a few moments to finish the pesto off.

COOKING TIP! The most important step, which is true for any time you cook, is to give it a taste test. Successful cooks are able to taste, analyze the flavors at hand, notice what’s missing, and respond by adding a “little of this” or a “little of that.” Don’t be afraid of messing up recipes by not following exact measurements! The more you practice, the better you will get at it……so go ahead and taste the pesto. Does it need more salt or pepper? Are you happy with the oil to basil/parsley ratio? (Hence, do you want it more or less oily?) Note that the recipe I gave you above it not a super oily pesto mixture; it’s thick and well balanced, and can be used as a traditional sauce in pasta as well as a spread for sandwiches, meats, or veg. If you would like the oil to basil/parsley ratio to be higher, add another 1/4 cup olive oil. You can also just do this when you are about to store it, as I am about to explain below.

So you’ve tasted, maybe added a bit of pepper or olive oil, and have decided your pesto is perfect! Now let’s store it. Pour it into a container and drizzle a light layer of olive oil on the top of the pesto to keep it moist. If you’re going to use it within a handful of days, store it in a container in the refrigerator. If you’re going to use it later than that or are not sure how soon you’ll use it, store the container in the freezer. I recently made this for a dinner party a couple days in advance, and I still put mine in the freezer just to be sure it didn’t brown or dull in color. And it was super easy to remove and let defrost- took no time at all.

When you are ready to use it, add a spoonful at a time to your pasta (or whatever you may be adding it to) and remember, a little bit of pesto goes a long way! I’ve always enjoyed pesto on farfalle pasta, linguini, or spaghetti, but when I was in Italy, my family shared with me a very traditional pasta to serve with pesto: trofie. You may not have heard of this, as it is uncommon in the U.S., and is hard to find in stores. You may be able to find it in some speciality food stores, and for sure online. Trofie is small, thick wavy pieces of pasta and is the traditional choice for pesto sauce in northern Italy. It is a heavy pasta; reminds me of gnocchi, except it is flour pasta, not potato. I encourage you to find and try this!

Here are some other ideas for experimenting and making your own pesto:

Herbs: basil, Italian flat leaf parsley, arugula, cilantro, oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary

Cheeses: parmigiano, pecorino romano, asiago, or any other Italian hard cheese alone or in blends

Additional ingredients: sundried tomatoes, shallots, pine nuts, walnuts (another Genovese tradition!)

Enjoy & mangia! I encourage you to post a picture below sharing your pesto making experience 🙂

Italian word of the day:

Parmigiano (n) = an Italian hard cheese and the Italian word for parmesan

*(pronunciation: par-mee-jah-no)