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U RecettAriel PESTO
the original recipe
 "U pestu" takes its name from the preparation of the sauce with a wooden pestel and a typical marble mortar. Tradition states that basil should never come into contact with a metal blade as the cutting edge darkens the leaves whereas crushing the leaves with a pestel liberates their flavours. Parmigiano or Pecorino Sardo should be grated to form a very fine powdery grate and purists add that the flavour of oil is lost if it is exposed to air, so no high speed blending. Clean the basil leaves without washing them, with a wet towel, and put them in a marble mortar with garlic, salt and pine nuts. Pound them with the wooden pestle. Add the grated cheese and continue to crush the mixture until it's reduced to a smooth paste. Add oil and mix it together. Pesto may also be used for spaghetti, linguine, trenette (a sort of "flat" spaghetti) and "mandilli de saea" (fazzoletti di seta, "silk handkerchiefs"), a kind of Ligurian pasta similar to smaller square lasagne, cooked as other non-stuffed egg pasta. You may want to add a spoonful of the water in which the pasta has boiled to dilute the pesto, if it's too thick. You can deep freeze pesto: don't add oil, put the mixture in the ice cube and freeze it. When you want to use it, pick a "cube" and let it defrost slowly in the fridge, adding oil. Don't use microwave ovens to defrost it, or it will blacken. Pesto should NEVER be cooked (save for the "lasagne al pesto" recipe) or it will become black and bitter. For more informations about pesto: The Knights of the Pesto Brotherhood
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