It would seem that there is so much in our kitchen, all kinds of mechanisms and devices - mixers, blenders, food processors. However, no, no, but you have to take out the good old mortar and work like in the old days. Tell me - why? For example, to prepare Italian Pesto sauce - well, he doesn’t like new products, he prefers that the main ingredients are ground with a mortar and pestle. The sauce has some kind of energy that can only be created by hand.
The authorship of Pesto sauce is attributed to the Persians; it got its name from the word trample, grind, crush. Any eatery in Italy will serve you this sauce, and everywhere it will be different. The original sauce is green in color because it contains the obligatory green basil leaves. It is served with pasta or lasagna, sometimes in soups, or even simply spread on bread or toast. According to legend, sailors took it with them on long voyages, and when they landed on land, they smelled of basil. The red color is obtained by adding tomatoes, but not fresh, but always dried.
There are no exact proportions for the sauce. However, the main ingredients are almost constant. First of all, it's basil. Only green leaves are taken, red is not suitable - it has too strong an aroma and can turn the dish into an unattractive color. Parmesan is a necessary ingredient; it is most suitable among hard cheeses. Some try to replace it with suluguni or sour cream cheeses, but these are already variations on the Pesto theme.
Pine nuts are the seeds of the Italian pine tree. They are much larger in size than Siberian cedar nuts. Simpler versions add walnuts, cheaper cheeses and vegetable oil. Sometimes mint and sheep cheese are added to the sauce. For Italian pasta you will need pasta. Pumpkin Pesto is prepared from pumpkin seeds; wild garlic has taken root in Russia instead of basil.
Pesto sauce - the best recipes
A simple sauce will add variety to meat and fish. It’s very simple to make – you don’t need to boil or fry anything, just grind and mix the prepared ingredients.
Ingredients: bunch of basil, cheese (50 grams, Parmesan), olive oil (100 grams), garlic (2 cloves), pine nuts (50 grams), juice of half a lemon.
Cooking method
Let's prepare the products - peel the garlic, divide it into pieces, wash and dry the basil, chop it finely. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater. Mix the ingredients and grind in a mortar. Of course, no one can prohibit using an electric meat grinder or blender. If you decide to crush it in a mortar, add the ingredients gradually. Mix with vegetable oil. Our task is to get a homogeneous mass, but still not to overdo it. Season to taste with salt and lemon juice. You can serve Pesto with meat or fish dishes, or simply with croutons. If some of the sauce remains unused, it is better to freeze it. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator.
This sauce is also used for pasta, pizza, lasagna, or with croutons and crackers. Sun-dried tomatoes can be cut into pieces or minced through a meat grinder. We will simply fry pieces of fresh tomatoes in a frying pan in a small amount of oil.
Ingredients: mozzarella cheese (125 grams), tomatoes (6-8 pcs.), garlic (3 cloves), parmesan (grate, 50 grams), nuts (pine nuts, fried, 30 grams), olive oil (125 grams), balsamic vinegar ( 1 spoon), salt, pepper.
Cooking method
Cut tomatoes and cheese into thin slices. Fry the tomatoes, place the cheese on plates. Wash the basil, then separate the leaves from the stems. Make puree from garlic and leaves in a mortar or mixer, grate cheese, crush nuts with olive oil. Mix everything, season with salt, pepper, add dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces. Decorate with basil leaves.
Examples of dishes with Pesto Sauce
The thick sauce makes the fish firm, tender and infused with the flavors of basil and garlic. Fish is better than dry types, lean and low-fat. Let's add more familiar parsley or celery to the sauce.
Ingredients: fish fillet (500 grams), salt, pepper, pesto sauce.
Pesto sauce: garlic (2 cloves), green basil, pine nuts, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt, parsley or celery.
Cooking method
Grease a baking dish with vegetable oil. You can place foil on the bottom of the pan to make it easier to clean later. Season the fillet with salt and pepper on one side. Coat the top with sauce. Place the pan in a well-heated oven and bake at 200 degrees.
A distinctive feature of Italian pasta is that it is not cooked completely, and then absorbs some more water. Therefore it never sticks together.
Ingredients: pasta (1 pack, 450 grams), Pesto sauce, a little olive oil and Parmesan cheese.
Cooking method
Boil the pasta. Drain the water, but leave a cup of broth. Mix the finished pasta with a spoon of olive oil or butter. There should be some liquid at the bottom of the pan. Olive oil does not dry out the pasta; it becomes juicier. Add sauce to pasta and sprinkle Parmesan on top. This type of cheese only melts at high temperatures, so it won't melt into hot pasta.
— Fish dishes with sauce are especially tasty. Try a fish fillet, such as salmon, wrapped in thinly sliced ham, drizzle with a little olive oil and baked in a high oven. Delicious, especially with a regular vegetable salad.
— To store the sauce, a transparent glass container is sterilized, the sauce is placed in it and stored in the refrigerator.
— Pesto is a great alternative to tomato sauce for pizza. The sauce can be served with oven-baked or grilled vegetables and herbs.
— If you couldn’t get pine nuts, crush almonds or hazelnuts in a mortar.
Pesto sauce is the hallmark of Italy. The birthplace of the famous pesto sauce is the city of Genoa, located in the Ligurian region in the north of the country. Pesto sauce traditionally consists of chopped garlic, basil, pine nuts, olive oil, Parmesan cheese or goat cheese.
Until recently, residents of our country, especially in remote areas, had not heard such a name. But today pesto sauce is fashionable and tasty. It doesn’t matter that due to certain events we will not be able to buy it in the nearest supermarket in the near future. Pesto sauce is not difficult to make yourself. But first, a little history of this wonderful, tasty and healthy sauce.
The name “pesto” literally means “to crush”, which directly refers to the original method of preparing pesto sauce. Initially, all ingredients were ground in a marble mortar and wooden pestle until smooth.
Pesto sauce originates in ancient Rome. It is known that the Romans ate pasta consisting of cheese, garlic and herbs ground together. The modern recipe for pesto sauce was first published in an Italian cookbook in 1863.
The modern recipe includes basil as the main ingredient of the sauce, crushed garlic, hard cheese, pine nuts and a little olive oil. The sauce was very popular in Italy and Provence, in the south of France.
Olive oil, garlic, basil, hard cheese and pine nuts, that's what pesto sauce is made of.
The French version differs from the Italian one in the absence of pine nuts and the addition of parsley.
Traditionally, pesto sauce is served with pasta; the sauce is especially good with pasta and vegetable salad. But pesto sauce is so versatile that it goes well with many dishes. Pesto sauce goes well with potatoes, beans, tomatoes, beef and chicken breast.
Pesto sauce is the general name for the entire variety of recipes for the famous sauce. Anything that can be mixed and added with olive oil can be called the proud name “pesto”. There is a traditional recipe, which was mentioned above, but many modern interpretations have also appeared. Let us remind you that the classic pesto sauce consists of basil, garlic, salt, olive oil, pine nuts, sometimes toasted, and grated cheese.
The French slightly changed the classic composition of the sauce. In Provence, the sauce includes basil, garlic, olive oil, cheese is added to taste, and nuts are excluded from the composition. This sauce is called Pistou (pistou) and is added to anything. The soup, Soupe au Pistou, is especially popular among the French. This is a thick vegetable soup with the aroma of sauce and seasonal vegetables, reminiscent of the famous Italian one.
In the French recipe, basil was not originally included in the sauce. The main ingredients were garlic, cheese and olive oil. Basil is added as desired. Almonds are sometimes used instead of pine nuts; the aroma can be complemented by mint leaves, which are mixed with basil leaves.
Sicily has its own version of pesto sauce, the so-called “red pesto”, which contains tomatoes. "Red pesto" contains tomatoes, almonds and much less basil. Outside of Italy, the word "pesto" was used to refer to all types of cold sauces and dressings mixed in this way. Moreover, there was no talk of original components.
Everything that was at hand and grew in the area was mixed. Arugula was used instead of basil, and the sauce was supplemented with lemon zest and dried mushrooms. For example, in Germany, wild garlic took the place of basil. Italian immigrants brought the pesto recipe to Latin America in the 19th century, where it acquired completely different characteristics.
Pesto sauce represents Italian cuisine, just like salsa and pasta sauce represent Latin American cuisine. Today, every chef can prepare his own sauce, there are many variations, but the original pesto sauce has not lost its relevance.
How to make Italian Pesto sauce. Personal, practical experience. Advice (10+)
Pesto
Pesto sauce came to us from distant Italy. Traditional Pesto sauce is made from basil, but if desired, you can add parsley and dill to it. This sauce is perfect for pasta, various meat and fish dishes, and is also suitable for dressing salads. But Pesto sauce is not only very tasty, it is also very healthy. After all, it includes such ingredients as: basil, parmesan, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil. Therefore, before we start preparing the sauce, let's take a closer look at all the ingredients and their beneficial properties.
Now that we have weighed out all the necessary products, we need to pre-process them for the main cooking process.
Take a bunch of basil and rinse it well under cold water. Then we put it on the board and cut off the stems from it, we only need the leaves. Place the basil leaves on a spread or wide plate and dry them well, and after drying, place them on a board and chop them finely. Now take the garlic cloves and peel them. Place the peeled cloves on a board and cut into small slices. Now all we have to do is prepare the cheese. To do this, take a fine grater and rub it.
The preparatory process is complete, now you can begin the main preparation of the sauce, for this we will need a blender.
Place some of the basil in the blender bowl. Then take the grated cheese, add it to the basil, put pine nuts there and pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Turn on the blender and start grinding the ingredients. While chopping, add the remaining basil leaves and add the remaining olive oil. The sauce does not need to be crushed until it is homogeneous, you just need the ingredients to be crushed and mixed. Therefore, as soon as this happens, it means the sauce is ready, you can put it in a gravy boat and serve it to the table.
Basil is a very versatile aromatic herb that contains a lot of beneficial substances. Its leaves and shoots contain carotene, rutin, tannins, as well as vitamin P and many macro- and microelements. Basil leaves also contain essential oils, and basil also contains a lot of fiber and protein. Basil has found very wide use in cooking. It is used in various sauces or simply as a decoration. It is also often added to cold and hot dishes.
Parmesan cheese is a hard cheese and has a scaly, grainy and brittle structure. The real cheese is made in Italy, although there are many similar cheeses made in China, America, Russia and Australia.
Parmesan is high in essential proteins and fatty acids. But, despite this, it does not contain cholesterol, so it is considered dietary. Parmesan also contains vitamins A, groups B, D and E, and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, sodium, selenium. Thanks to this composition of nutrients, Parmesan is considered an indispensable product for children, the elderly and people with heavy physical activity.
Parmesan has a spicy taste and delicate aroma. Italians eat Parmesan in small pieces, washed down with wine. In cooking, it is used in risotto, in vegetable dishes, for sprinkling pasta, in meat dishes, and added to sauces and various salads.
Garlic is one of the oldest vegetables, and our ancestors knew about its beneficial properties. Its most famous property is that garlic helps in the treatment of colds and strengthens the immune system. But besides this, it also has a lot of other useful properties.
Garlic contains such a useful substance as thiamine, which is necessary for the normal functioning of the nervous system. Garlic also contains nitrogenous substances, calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, silicic, sulfuric and phosphoric acids, vitamins C, D, B, extractives, essential oils. With the help of garlic, you can lower blood pressure, and it also has wound-healing, anthelmintic and antitoxic effects, and it is very useful for vitamin deficiencies.
Pine nuts grow on both Siberian cedar and Siberian pine. On one tree, up to twelve kilograms of nuts can grow. Nuts contain many useful substances and vitamins, as well as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, as well as micro- and macroelements.
The amino acids contained in pine nuts are very beneficial for the body, some of them are essential and very scarce.
Macro- and microelements contained in nuts are iron, nickel, phosphorus, boron, iodine, copper, zinc, silicon, molybdenum, manganese, tin, potassium, magnesium, calcium and vanadium. All these substances are beneficial to the body and are necessary for its normal functioning.
Nuts also contain vitamins such as: K, B2, E, B3, B1 and A, as well as carbohydrates: sucrose, glucose, pentose, fiber, fructose, starch. In small quantities, pine nuts contain substances such as: iodides, sodium, titanium, silver, cobalt, barium and aluminum.
Olive oil is a very valuable product. The healthiest olive oil is considered to be natural, cold-pressed oil. The fats found in oil are unsaturated and the process of breaking them down is much faster, and also removes harmful cholesterol from the body. Olive oil also contains vitamins A, E, K, linoleic and fatty acids, oleocanthal and antioxidants.
If you use olive oil correctly, you can improve your health and strengthen your immune system. The likelihood of developing cancer is also reduced. The oil is also perfect for dietary nutrition, fatty acids reduce hunger, and weight is also reduced due to the choleretic properties of olive oil.
In general, due to the many beneficial properties of olive oil, it can be used not only in cooking, but also in medicine and cosmetology. In order for the oil to benefit the body, it must be consumed daily.
From the above we can conclude that Pesto sauce consists only of healthy products.
What is Italian pesto sauce famous for? Main ingredients, pesto recipe (photo). The right basil for pesto. Classic sauce in Liguria.
“Pesto alla genovese” - this is how the famous pesto sauce sounds in Italian, which translated means pesto in Genoese. so popular all over the world that pesto sauce is inseparable from spaghetti or minestrone soup, which are traditionally served together. The name “pesto” alone carries with it a charm.
We will learn: choosing the right basil for the sauce and making pesto at home
Pesto comes from Liguria and its main city, Genoa. The main treasure of this unique sauce is basil leaves. The peculiarity of this herb is that true Italian basil must be grown under the rays of the sun in the Pra region, the western outskirts of Genoa, near the Mediterranean Sea.
They say that the natives of Genoa are sensitive to the cultivation of basil and the preparation of this sauce. Some people don't even try pesto unless the basil leaves have been basking in the sun around Pra.
This is explained by the fact that basil should have a slight bitterness and a delicate fibrous consistency. You should pick leaves no larger than 4-5 centimeters, as mature leaves can impart excessive bitterness to the sauce. As is customary in Russia, the dishes, like the sauce, are created only from fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Ingredients for classic pesto sauce
The pesto contains basil, pine nuts, cheese, garlic and olive oil. Traditionally, the preparation of the sauce begins with washing, drying on a towel and grinding the basil. Devotees of the old kitchen prefer the mortar and pestle as tools for creating a creamy consistency.
Patience and work are what a beginner needs. A pestle, unlike a food processor, helps release essential oils - that aroma without which a true sauce will not be called pesto!
If you do not plan to use the sauce immediately after cooking, be sure to place it in a container and cover tightly with a lid.
When the grass begins to release juice, it's time to add pine nuts and salt. Only coarse salt is used. Next comes the garlic, bakerino cheese and a little olive oil. Please note that the balance between bitterness and sweetness can be adjusted by adding pine nuts.
The olives must also come from the area. Olive oil is chosen taking into account the characteristics of the variety: moderately spicy and preferably with low acidity - ideal for pesto. Next comes the turn of the cheese. Pecarino is the general name for a product made from pure sheep's milk, so popular in Italy.
As slightly less expensive ingredients You can use cashew nuts or walnuts instead of pine nuts. Parmesan can replace pecorino cheese or grana padano.
Let's learn how to make pesto at home!
The modern version of pesto sauce is simplified. And cooks, of course, do not use a pestle and mortar, but a food processor - a blender. The whole point in creating this unique sauce lies in the proportions of the products taken, and here the professionalism of the author of the culinary product plays a decisive role.
To learn how to determine the required ratio of ingredients by eye, don’t be afraid, but try to create your own unique pesto at home today!
At the final stage, the sauce is decorated with basil leaves and olives. If you do not plan to use the sauce immediately after cooking, be sure to place it in a container and cover it tightly with a lid to prevent it from quickly oxidizing in the air. Pesto can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a week.
Tortellini with pesto. But you will be surprised how perfectly this sauce goes with your favorite dumplings!
Whatever attracts us to Italian cuisine, pesto sauce will deservedly take its place in the kitchen next to any dish. And its aroma will conquer not only the gourmet, but also the mere mortal!
One of the most famous sauces, pesto is made from a mixture of two main ingredients: olive oil and green basil. Naturally, the remaining ingredients are selected by each chef according to his preferences, so there are countless options for the sauce. Among the most popular additional ingredients are Parmesan cheese and almonds, garlic and goat cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes. Before preparing the sauce, you need to decide what to use with the pesto sauce, because this sauce should only be fresh.
Pesto sauce has its own characteristics in different countries, but it is very tasty everywhere. The famous rich green sauce made from herbs, olive oil, nuts and cheese goes well with fish and meat, as well as pasta and salads.
Pesto sauce goes very well with various types of Italian pasta, for example, fettuccine and tagliatelle, spaghetti and ravioli with all kinds of filling or without filling. Pesto turns a completely ordinary side dish into a delicious independent dish.
In addition, you can bake fish with sauce; cod and salmon are most often used for this. Chicken or whole chicken, meat chops, and turkey can be marinated and cooked in pesto sauce before using it to make meatloaf. By cooking meat or fish in the oven, marinated in pesto sauce and wrapped in foil, you can safely make this dish the main dish on the holiday table. Pesto coated lamb tastes great when grilled. Dry-cured pork can also be served with pesto sauce.
Vegetables that go well with pesto are eggplants, which are rolled into rolls; you just need to add a little tomatoes to the sauce. Eggplants cut into slices and fried in a frying pan turn out very tasty if they are laid out in several layers, covering each layer with tomato slices and pouring pesto sauce and sprinkling with Parmesan cheese. A multi-layer vegetable pie is baked in the oven and served warm. Even classic Italian appetizer made from mozzarella and tomatoes, cut into slices, without fail dressed with pesto sauce. Our usual potatoes can also be baked with pesto. A delicious treat is made from fried mushrooms and spinach, baked with cheese and pesto sauce.
It is quite justified to use the sauce in the preparation of canapés, sandwiches and sandwich cakes, as well as adding it to pizza, especially combined with tomatoes, ham and cheese. Risotto with spinach, to which pesto sauce has been added, is very tasty; the same can be said about warm salads with seafood and the famous sauce. Even soups are prepared using pesto sauce, most often these are potato, pumpkin, carrot soups with sesame and ginger, as well as the popular creamy avocado soup with pesto sauce.
You must try this famous sauce at least once. You don't have to use a lot of ingredients. Pesto sauce will be beautiful even in its simplest form from basil, olive oil, almonds and favorite spices. This sauce is so versatile that it gives incredible scope for experimentation, so it is very useful in the kitchen of any good housewife.
