Simply... pesto.

Pesto, you cannot get it wrong - it's so simple and so good! This sauce comes from Genova, the capital of Liguria in the North of Italy. 
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All you need is some fresh basil, garlic cloves, a good extra virgin olive oil, pine nuts, parmigiano and pecorino. Head to our food blog for advice on how to pick the best olive oil.

This is a no-cook recipe. You just cook your pasta and add the pesto once this is cooked so that the heat of the pasta pan warms your pesto.

What you need:

• 100g basil (no stalks) 
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 30g pine nuts
• 100g Parmigiano
• 80g Pecorino 
• 170ml extra virgin olive oil 
• Touch of salt 

The cooking process:
For the traditional recipe you'll need a pestle and mortar. You can always use a food processor but the speed of the machine and the engine will warm up the sauce. This will change the colour of your pesto to brown as the basil becomes warm. Our tip would be to keep the food processor in the freezer for 10 mins before you start making your pesto as this will help keep the mixture cool and maintain a nice green colour to the sauce.
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1. Start toasting the pine nuts in a pan  for about 5 min on a low hit then let them cool down. 
2. Finely grate the parmesan and pecorino and skeep them on a side. Try not to get too excited with the cheese as this will change the consistency!
3. Add a touch of salt to your pestle and mortal then add 2 cloves of garlic, smash them together until the garlic became a paste.
4. Add another pinch of salt to the mortal with the basil leaves and smash them again. (*If the basil leaves are very large, run a knife through them once or twice to cut them down in size).
5. At this point, add the pine nuts. Crush them inside the pestle and mortar until perfectly combined with the basil and garlic.
6. This is the moment when you will start to add the cheese bit by bit, adjusting the thickness of the mix by complimenting the cheese with the olive oil. For example, first add the half of the cheese and half of the olive oil and mix. (If your pestle is too small for this, you can move the sauce in a bowl. We have a giant one so we can fit everything inside!)
7. Add the rest of the cheese and while mixing, add slowly all the remaining olive oil.
8. Now, the important part! Taste your pesto and adjust with salt and olive oil until you have the perfectly smooth but thick consistency.

Pesto is usually served with a "trofie" (a thin twised pasta), but you can even use it as a dipping sauce or on toasted bread to make bruschetta. 

You can save your pesto in the fridge for up to 7 days or you can freeze it for up to a month.

Now, get mixing! ​